Do you believe in miracles? Yeah, they do happen. Unfortunately, though, miracles are not very popular in businesses, especially for start-ups or small ventures. If you want a power-puffing result, you’ll need sugar, spice, and everything nice.
The one mistake that young entrepreneurs make, causing mostly the downfall of their businesses, is taking for granted factors in business that should be on top of the priority list- customer service to be precise.
In the US, studies show that 89% of customers switched to the competitor because of a bad customer service experience. More research further reveals that 68% completely abandoned a brand because they do not feel cared for. Eventually, this causes business failure.
Don’t worry! This doesn’t have to happen to you. Now what you have to do is pull up your sleeves and get ready to bust some myths.
They lied when they told you that:
- Marketing is more important than customer service
A lot of businesses allocate a huge amount of budget in marketing wanting to attract new customers and increase their presence. After all, new customers mean additional revenue. This is absolutely fine, but it becomes a problem when existing customers are forgotten, neglected, or taken for granted.
Spoken Communications blog indicates that it costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one. Customer surveys for a mobile subscription service brand in Australia complain that tons of promotions and sign-up deals are offered to new incoming clients. However, those who have been in the company for a certain period of time get to pay regular prices, have to spend more for upgrades, and sometimes have no access to the new packages which are exclusive for newbies. Oops.
It is very important to keep in mind that new customers should be equally cared for as existing and loyal ones! Your happy customers offer free marketing through reviews and recommendations, and you don’t even have to ask them! Keep in mind that a satisfied customer tells three people about their great experience, BUT an angry customer tells ten. Yikes.
2. You can handle customer service and business management at the same time.
Yes, you can! That is if you’re willing to sacrifice hours of sleep, family time, and self-improvement.
A small business is a huge commitment. According to OnPay, HR and payroll alone which most business owners handle themselves can take an average of 40 hours a month. Consider that you’d need to spend time to manage your cash flow and accounting, monitor your marketing, liaise with your suppliers and partners, and attend to your customers. Well, it’s an understatement to say you’re biting off more than you can chew.
Outsourcing your business functions benefit you in more ways than you can imagine. You can get the expertise you need, manage the pain points of growth with additional perspective, focus on your core business process, get access to new resources, and have undivided attention to each factor in your business.
3. Outsourcing customer service is expensive
It’s actually the other way around.
When you outsource your business function like customer service for instance, you convert determined labor expenses into variable costs. That means you only pay for what you need when you need it, and how much of it you require.
This is especially true when in comparison with having in-house employees. Outsourcing provides you the flexibility to scale your consumption based on the business situation. Is your business slow? Scale down. Is it picking up? Scale-up!
According to James Bucki, a professor at Genesee Community College in Batavia, New York, “Outsourcing will allow operations that have seasonal or cyclical demands to bring in additional resources when you need them and release them when you’re done.”
Just as entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk has said, “You have to work your butt off to see a payoff.” As you work hard, remember that you also have to work smart. Having a business is the real thing and your success and failure depend on what you believe in, what you do, and what you don’t do. Now, let the book keep the myths and in this real world, use your wits.
