In all fairness, virtually every company in Nigeria is guilty of poor customer service representation. It is difficult to point to a single industry and say confidently that customers always receive the best form of assistance when need be.
Almost every day, people go on social media to make serious complaints about a company’s product, usually after a poor customer relationship experience. That has made me understand that customer service is the most crucial part of your business if you want to stay on track. Even with a great product or brand, you cannot afford anything short of excellence for your customer service.
For this article, we will focus on a few reasons why the service culture in most Nigerian companies must change.
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Customer Retention Is Less Expensive Than Customer Acquisition
Experts say it costs approximately five times more to attract a new customer to your business than it requires to retain an existing customer. This logic, on its own, should highlight the importance of providing excellent customer service. Why risk losing a customer? It is costly enough to locate new customers, therefore, every business owner should do whatever it takes to ensure they stay happy loyal to them
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Customer Service Represents Your Brand Image, Mission, And ValuesÂ
As a business owner, you already have an idea of what your brand represents. Your customers can only make assumptions based on your advertisement, content, social media presence. However, your customer service is your connection to your customers. It has the responsibility to represent your brand to them since they have direct communication with your customers. They are in the best position to influence the customers and convince them of your competitors’ strengths. Therefore, if you want your customer service representatives to do their best work, they should feel respected and appreciated as this will, in turn, make them do an excellent job in serving your customers the right way.
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Excellent Customer Service Reduces The Overall Problems Associated With Sales And Business
If you treat your customers like gold, you will undoubtedly reduce your business’s overall problems. If you treat them poorly, you will run into a problem at one point or another. These problems often lead to an untimely demise of your business.
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Excellent Customer Service Improves Your Public Persona And Strengthens Your Brand
Customer service is essential to the growth of your business. Therefore, ensuring a high quality of customer service results in positive reviews and solidifies you in the mind of customers.
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It Elongates The Life Of Any Business
Small businesses make up a significant percentage of the businesses in Nigeria and provide jobs for 50% of the populace. However, According to research, many small businesses fail before their 5th anniversary in Nigeria. Customer satisfaction is one of the most important factors critical to the success of a business. When you ignore the needs of your customers, and you don’t focus on going out of your way for them, you are cutting short the potential for longevity in business. If you are serious about your business, you have to focus on the core – your customers. Without them, your business will not last.