Marketing – About The Benjamins

In many industries, the marketing department of an organization is considered the unit with big bucks but with little benefit to the company.  Often times it’s difficult to prove ROI in the marketing department so people assume the ROI isn’t favorable.  But if Customer Service and Marketing work together, both departments can see significant improvement in a variety of goals.  How can Marketing improve the Customer Care department?

1.     Share content to educate the customer

Often, calls that come to the Customer Care department are purely for information or people are in contact because they are confused about some part of the product or service your firm is selling.  Marketing can help alleviate some of these contacts by providing information about your company’s products.  By properly analyzing data, the Customer Service and Marketing Departments can work together to recognize questions that are showing up repeatedly and Marketing can incorporate the answers to those questions in their marketing material, on your website and via social media.

2.    Monitor social media for improved customer service

According to a study by Booz & Company, 81% of respondents report that their social media outreach falls to their marketing department.  This indicates that your brand Community Manager is not only engaging with your customers on a marketing level, but is also giving support and answering questions that have traditionally fallen to the Customer Support Department.  It is imperative that the Marketing and Customer Service departments develop a reciprocal relationship, share information and integrate social media channels into relationship management.  The Community Manager must communicate concerns that directly affect Customer Service so that data can be analyzed and steps taken to continually improve customer outreach.

3.     Set expectations

The goal of the Marketing Department is to position your product so that is intriguing; so customers want MORE.  More information, more detail, more product.  But your product better be able to deliver on the promise set forth by marketing.  Marketing needs to set reasonable expectations that can be met by the company.  Overpromising and failure to deliver will turn potential customers away, perhaps forever.  So Marketing and Customer Service need to work in tandem as one unit to face the product development team within your company and share their experiences about what the customers are expecting and what they want from the firm.

4.   Share the wealth

Frequently, the Marketing Department has a massive amount of data on your customers – their demographics, their preferences, their interactions.  By sharing this information with Customer Service executives, both departments can analyze the data for predictive behaviors and proactively apply these insights into the call center, so the agents can provide a more personal experience that is better aligned with the individual customers and therefore, helps build brand equity.

Customer Service and Marketing both have dramatic impact on the relationship a customer has with a company.  Good Customer Service helps to increase purchases and maintain your existing customer base.  This, in turn, is one less customer the Marketing Department has to chase.  The Marketing Department effectively communicates your company’s brand and sets reasonable consumer expectations, taking some of the workload off of Customer Service.  By offering a united front and working together, Customer Service and Marketing will help build a better brand and increase profits for your company.

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