Customer service and revenue go hand in hand. You treat your customers well, they come back for more and spread the word. Equally, if they have a bad experience, they won’t come back – and they’ll still spread the word. 

Ultimately, customer service wields an unparalleled influence on a company’s success. It is capable of shaping both reputation and revenue streams. In this article, we’ll explore customer service levels in all their glory. From the metrics to strategies, we’ll explain the interplay between customer service levels, revenue, and business prosperity.

Understanding customer service levels

Customer service levels are all about how well a business helps and supports its customers. Essentially, this describes the efforts the company makes to ensure its customers are happy and want to come back, while showing how committed it is to meeting or exceeding expectations. Every company’s customer service is central to its success – and it’s all about smooth communication and trust.

When you evaluate customer service levels, you look at different aspects of customer service. One important aspect is response time. This tells us how quickly the company responds to customer queries or problems. A good call centre management system, for example, is key to this.

We can also look at satisfaction scores. These provide valuable insights into the quality of experience. They show where the company is doing well in terms of customer service. And where it’s not doing so well. 

Here’s an example to illustrate:

When a company solves a problem quickly for a customer, it makes them feel satisfied and valued. This builds loyalty – and happy customers often tell others about their positive experience. Conversely, if customers have to wait a long time or get inadequate support, they might feel disappointed in the company. 

This can lead to customers losing trust in the brand and saying bad things about their experience to others. This tarnishes the business’s reputation and credibility. 

When things are on a downward trajectory in terms of customer service levels, we can figure out why to try and reverse it. Equally, if things are on the up, we can work out what’s going well and ensure the same practice continues.

Importance of customer service levels

With so much competition, customer service can be a key differentiator. Businesses can stand out by how much care they give to their customers. Those who prioritise personalised customer service shine over those who show less attention. 

Customer service levels are crucial because they directly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty, which in turn drive revenue and profitability. Positive customer experiences lead to repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals, while poor experiences can result in lost sales and damaged reputation. When customers have a positive experience, they are more likely to return and recommend it to others. 

This means boosted revenue and increased profitability. What’s more, satisfied customers are more likely to become advocates who help you attract new customers. This happens through positive word-of-mouth referrals as well as written reviews. 

Nowadays, customer expectations are high and customers expect speed. When customers don’t find the answers they’re looking for in one place, they’ll quickly look elsewhere. This is why an omnichannel approach to customer service is recommended. 

When customer service is poor it leads to lost sales, negative reviews, and a damaged reputation. Customers won’t return–and they’ll tell others not to go there too. By prioritising high-quality service, companies from all industries can create strong customer relationships, enhance their brand reputation and gain a competitive edge. 

Levels of customer service and why they drive revenue (or not)

Customer service can be categorised into four levels (though there are variations):

• Unsatisfactory: Failing to reach any of the required standards of customer services – a low response rate and unsatisfactory customer support. Customers shop elsewhere and your revenue decreases.
• Basic: The minimum expected. Queries are answered and some level of support is there. Your revenue is stagnant.
• Good:  This is achieved when a company exceeds basic expectations. Calls are answered quickly and customer service reps rectify problems. Your revenue increases.
• Exceptional: This is the level of service people want. Customer service reps are consistent and have the right knowledge and attitude. They go above and beyond doing things like sending a personalised back in stock email to customers who missed out, for example. Your revenue increases and stays elevated. 

Ultimately, as the level of customer services increases so too does revenue. Whether it’s your role to advise someone whether or not to get a .tech domain or any other product/service, having a good customer service experience can influence their decision-making. Not only are you influencing the individual customer on whether or not they decide to buy now, you’re influencing their future purchases–and those of their friends and family when they recommend you. 

Instead of thinking of your customer service team as a cost centre, think of it as a revenue generator. With this shift in mentality, your customer service representatives become sales conduits both now and in the future.

Strategies for providing high-level customer service

While some of your senior sales staff should definitely be focusing on complex things, including analytics and data tasks like drift monitoring, remember that this should never come at the expense of providing exceptional customer service. 

One reason many businesses fail to get it right is that they don’t empower their customer service representatives to solve problems themselves. They frequently require permission from a supervisor to sort problems out. If a customer service rep can’t solve the problem on first contact, the customer will be dissatisfied. What’s more, the more calls a customer has to make, the less cost-effective the customer service team is. 

So, how can we improve customer service levels to increase revenue and profitability?

Businesses can enhance their customer service levels through various means. These include:

• Automating personalized follow-up emails through an email sequence tool can enhance customer engagement and satisfaction. These tools allow for timely responses and tailored communication, ensuring customers feel valued and supported throughout their journey.
• Thinking of your customer services team as a revenue generator, as mentioned above.
• Setting up a call centre to streamline customer inquiries and support.
• Empower customer service reps to make key decisions without involving supervisors.
• Investing in training programs for employees. This includes training on hard skills like technology, tools, systems and product knowledge as well as soft skills like active listening, positive language, clear communication, persuasion, empathy and emotional intelligence.
• Using customer relationship management (CRM) software to track interactions and customer preferences.
• Setting up self-service options like FAQs, online forums, social media, and knowledge bases with inbound blogging.
• Establishing a set of clear standards and performance metrics. 
• Encouraging customer feedback through surveys, reviews, and feedback forms. 
• Creating a customer-centric culture within the company.

It’s important to analyze and understand customer behaviour and how they interact with your brand, what their preferences are, and what drives their purchasing decisions. This understanding can guide personalized interactions and tailored solutions, ultimately improving satisfaction and loyalty.

Final thoughts

To recap, customer service level plays a key role in the success of a company and is a priority for any type of business. The level of customer service is generally categorised as either unsatisfactory, basic, good and exceptional. All businesses should strive to be exceptional. We can summarise by saying taking care of customers takes care of the business: it improves customer satisfaction, strengthens brand reputation and increases revenue and profitability.