In 2010 the phrase "Service Is Marketing" has never been more true. The explosion in social media technologies, along with their rapid maturation and acceptance by businesses and customers alike, is forcing organizations to revisit the age old axiom that the best reputation is gained by word of mouth.
Service Prolems Are Marketing Problems
A mere 5-7 years ago someone with a poor service experience may tell, or in some cases, tell and re-tell, their story on various forums across the web and email distribution lists with the hope of gaining resolution or simply damaging an organizations reputation.
And while this wasn't something a business ignored, the ability for the story to grow beyond a small circle was somewhat limited. The damage could be contained or mitigated.
Dateline 2010
Jump ahead to today and it's a very different story. A
poor service experience delivered by one customer
service or technical support representative can be
broadcast to, quite literally, thousands and thousands
of people within minutes.
The Twitter #FAIL Tag
Do you know what the Twitter #FAIL tag is? If you do, well, nuff' said. If you don't it's how Twitter users flag a product or service as having failed them or someone they know in meeting an expectation. Sure, the original service problem may still exist, and it may even be easily solved for the customer once you know about it, but by then it's already too late. It's now accompanied by a marketing or PR problem. It's absolutely critical that service gaps are minimized wherever and whenever possible, else, a business has a tremendous challenge on their hands.
Service Is A Marketable Asset!
So is this all bad? Does it place an organization on the defensive? Of course not. In fact, the opportunity to capitalize on consistently good service delivery has never been better because customer service is a marketable asset
We speak with an awful lot of executives that view service & support as a cost. A long time ago we would have argued with them. (And still just may!!), but perception is reality. If an executive views service or tech support as a non-revenue generating piece of the organization, who are we to argue with them?
What Makes Service Different?
Let's break a business down in to two big, simple buckets. The first is a revenue generating bucket that drives top line growth, typically comprised of Marketing & Sales.
The other bucket contains all aspects of an organization that subtract from margin and the bottom line. In the cost bucket, you'll typically find Facilities, IT, HR, Accounting & Finance, and of course, Customer Service and/or Technical Support.
Have you ever seen a company try to gain competitive advantage by extolling the virtues of their IT team or Office Manager? Nope. HR? Maybe in the form or recruiting, but that's about all. No, most companies yield little or no competitive advantage beyond the operational efficiency of these valuable contributors, nor do they find themselves with a marketing or growth opportunity from these core business functions.
Customer Service, though, is a very different story. It's already being invested in and is absolutely a marketable asset. If it wasn't, JD Powers wouldn't be handling out service awards each year.