Why Customer Service is Key in Your Marketing Plan

Peter Drucker got it right. “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer,” he noted. “It is the customer who determines what a business is. What the business thinks it produces is not of first importance.”

Larry Lim, MarketingSphere founder, explains that the importance of customer service is to inform the customer. In turn, that customer demands more from a company. That is, your marketing plan strategy should align with the customer service you are providing.

It’s been reported that the probability of a purchase by an existing customer is 60 to 70 percent when compared to new customer, which is five to 20 percent. Customer service affects the bottom line (the purchase) positively or negatively, depending on that service. Good customer service provides strong insight on the customer’s buying behavior. The marketing team can use that to improve its own strategies.

Here’s how can you use your customer service to change or improve your marketing plan.

1. Take Inputs for Marketing Messaging

Contact with customers allows reps to understand what type of marketing messaging works and what doesn’t. Reps talk to the customers about their pain points and ensure those pain points are removed by the product team.

This discussion about what they like/want is at the center of the data the marketing team needs to collect from the reps. If a customer thinks pricing was an issue, and the reason they opted for your product, you should include affordable pricing in your marketing messaging. Highlight the pain points of your customer in your messaging to engage customers and new prospects.

2. Promote New Features

Reps can market new features to the customer and offer a “first look” before the final release to understand how well the feature is working. Through this exercise, the marketing team can gain insight into how well the feature/upgrade is being received by the customers and strategize their marketing according to feedback.

Consider Agile CRM’s Beta Program. We use this program to understand how customers feel about new upgrades and features. Many of our customers have signed up as beta testers and we evaluate their feedback to see how well they like it. This practice makes it easier for the marketing team to market the product and learn what to focus on.

3. Build Strong Buyer Personas

Once the purchase is made, you stop adding more points to your buyer’s persona. Why? Marketers should talk to service reps and use that information to build a stronger buyer’s persona. Adding more information eases the identification and messaging process when you are targeting new prospects.

There are always buyers that carry the same persona and using extra information from existing customers helps build your sales-ready lead list.

4. Different Ideas to Approach

Get a second or third opinion to help you see untouched marketing possibilities. It’s easy to get stuck with a single strategy. Service reps can acts as a breath of fresh air and bring in new ideas for a marketing plan. Since reps know the customers, they can offer different solutions to a marketing problem and make it better. Brainstorming also allows for faster idea creation and a unique perspective.

5. Use Focused Messaging

Disparity in messaging can do serious damage to your brand and product. It is crucial to have a singular message used by the marketing team and promoted by the service team. Bringing in consensus in the messaging is the key to success.

The message should have input from both teams and be attuned to the customer’s needs. When putting this message out, both teams needs= to be on same page. If marketing highlights a “how we are different from others” point, the service team should follow suit.

Creating value for your customers is what matters. Using customer service to refine your marketing will help accomplish that.