Open Your Eyes To The Sales Opportunities In Customer Service

I have outlined my views many times on customer lifetime value (CLV) and thinking first of a customer service strategy as an opportunity to create revenue rather than just a necessary cost to a business. In fact, I keep on making the same argument.

It’s tiring.

Take a look around at the business journals. They often just point to outsourcing customer service processes as a way to save cash. Here is a good example - outsource your contact centre and save 50%.

Many of the clients I work with see these articles and then expect bargain basement prices when I put together a proposal for them. The thing is, I’m never going to offer rock bottom prices when I am also offering the best quality services in the marketplace by paying competitive salaries to attract and retain the best talent to represent the brands we support!

But what makes me feel so tired is that this keeps going on. We were having the same conversation twenty years ago. How to achieve more efficiency in you customer service processes - outsource it all.

Sometimes I will propose a figure to a potential client that is higher than a rival firm is offering and the client will turn and ask me why.

The problem is always this idea of cost and value.

Let’s say company X has pitched for a contract and are going to charge $5 million dollars a year to build out and operate a customer service solution.

I’m pitching for the same contract, but I have suggested it will be $5.5 million a year for the service. However, I have also included details of how the service team will contribute $millions in additional revenue year on year.

Who has the best offer?

To my mind this is simple.

Each time you engage with your customers there is a chance to build a stronger connection, to create loyalty, to build advocates, to help them by selling them an upgrade or a new service. If your service team is trained to have these conversations then they are really a sales team.

If all you are training your customer service team to manage is handling some complaints then that is an enormous missed opportunity. You are on the front-line talking to customers all day. Help them. Show them some new products. Explain how an upgrade would fix their current problems.

When will managers in charge of customer service see this and appreciate that they should be coming to someone like me and asking ‘Paul, how do we make enough additional revenue from our customer service team that we are actually making a profit - even with the bill from Teleperformance?’

I can answer questions like that because I’ve worked with clients on projects that transform their service team into sales experts. They are still helping the customer whenever they have a problem, but they know what is available, how to offer options and ideas that can help the customer, but also lead to a revenue uplift.

Let’s make it really clear. If you cannot see these opportunities then I don’t think you really value your own brand. If your vision doesn’t extend beyond the cheapest possible service then I don’t really want to even try competing to win your contract. It won’t be fun and it won’t be innovative - just grinding down costs and trying to manage a team being paid as little as possible.

Open your eyes to the opportunities that customer engagement creates. This is how we can work together to boost your revenue - and have some fun doing it!

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