Why 24/7 Customer Service is Important

According to The Telegraph, “the rise of millennials and globalisation means businesses need to operate 24-hour globally, in order to remain competitive”.

And while it’s certainly true that only operating your business between the standard hours of 9 to 5 Mondays to Fridays is getting more and more difficult in the age of the internet.

That’s why businesses around the world are increasingly switching to 24/7 customer service. This is becoming the only way to maintain a high customer service standards in today’s market.

But the good news is that you don’t have to handle it all by yourself. With customer support services, such as telephone answering services, there to help you.

Keep reading to find out more about why 24/7 customer service is important for your business.

1. Customer Satisfaction

Nowadays, customers want to be able to browse and purchase products and services at all times of the day. You can be confident that by providing your customers with 24/7 customer service you’ll significantly increase customer satisfaction.

Most customers believe that because you’re happy to take their money 24/7 through your company website, you should also be glad to answer any questions or handle any problems 24/7 too.

Although it can depend on what kind of sector or industry your business works in, customers want to know that someone is always available to resolve any minor issues they might be having with your products or services.

By providing customer service on demand you are demonstrating to your customers that you can be trusted to have your customers’ back at all times. With 24/7 customer service, your customers get a seamless experience that will keep you in their mind long after the initial sale.

2. Customer Loyalty

Of course, it goes without saying that a satisfied customer is much more likely to become a loyal customer than someone who has had a bad experience. There’s no doubt that by providing your customers with 24/7 customer service, they’ll reward your outstanding commitment to customers with their loyalty.

After all, great customer service shows you care about your customers and not just their wallets. Market research conducted by the Customer Thermometer, when asked why customers feel connected to a brand, the top 5 reasons given were:

• Caring for me
• Caring about the world
• Understanding me
• Being like me
• Being made to feel special

That’s why, if you’re looking to turn your customers into brand loyal customers, you have to provide customer service at their convenience, not yours.

According to a study by Forrester, 77 percent of customers highly value companies that offer an “effortless service”. By providing customer service at all hours, you are well on your way to fulfilling what customers want.

3. Increasing Sales

By developing a 24/7 customer service channel, you’re also opening up another channel for sales as well.

Every time you’re contacted by a customer, that’s an opportunity to make a sale. Of course, the primary concern of the customer is to have their immediate problem or question handled efficiently.

But what do you do after this, you can attempt to make some sales. With highly-trained professionals, it’s possible to turn the conversation from the customer’s problem to a conversation about how other products or services could meet the needs of the customer, or even fix the initial problem they were finding.

By being reachable at any hour, you unlock all that hidden time where the attention of the customer is already with you. This means opportunities for both constructive feedback and sales.

The trick is understanding that customer service is also another means of increasing sales.

4. Company Reputation

As written in Forbes Magazine, “a company is only as good as their customers perceive them to be”. This is a truth of marketing and why 24/7 customer service is essential to developing the reputation of your company.

Customers who have experienced and been impressed by your impeccable customer service are likely to recommend you to other people.

Your customers are no longer happy to just read your FAQs and hope they find a solution to their problem. And most of the time they don’t want to wait for an email response.

Instead, they want to speak to a real human being who can deal with their problem there and then. By showing you’re able to meet this expectation, you will be rewarded with a reputation for taking your customers’ concerns seriously and the benefits that comes with it.

By being available 24/7 for your customers, you’ll gain a reputation for being professional, reliable and caring about your customers.

This is the reverse of many companies that are impossible to get in touch with after they have your money.

A positive reputation of your company will do wonders for the growth of your business, increasing your customer base and improved sales will roll in.

5. Stand Out From the Crowd

Despite the demand for customer service beyond regular hours, there are still many companies who have yet to catch on to the future of customer service. Customers are much wiser. They notice when they are getting a service that stands out from the crowd.

That’s why by providing customers with 24/7 service is an excellent way to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Why would they buy from a business in your sector or industry that doesn’t provide 24/7 customer service, when they can purchase from you who can?

With all hours customer service, you show that you’re ahead of the curve. In the days when people regularly use instant messaging services, such as Whatsapp and Snapchat, we are increasingly conditioned to expect responses at all times of the day when we need it most.

How Do You Offer 24/7 Customer Service?

Now you know the top reasons why every business needs to provide their customers with 24/7 service.

If you’re convinced that you need to offer your customers the best service out there, you’re probably wondering how you can possibly achieve this with such limited resources.

By outsourcing your customer service to us, you can be sure that your customers will be in safe hands. Get in touch to find out more about our customer service lines today, 24/7 as standard.