Outstanding customer service can have great impact on both the top and bottom line, so it’s no surprise that today’s senior management is prioritizing ways to enhance revenue through a focus on great service.

In a new ebook, Selling Customer Service to Your CFO and CMO, Vice Chairman of Customer Care Measurement & Consulting, John Goodman looks at how to make the case for moving your customer service process to center stage.

Goodman begins by noting five key ways that customer service, far from being a cost center, can actually boost company revenue while at the same time cutting expenses.

1. Reduced Attrition from Problem Avoidance

Resolution of existing customer issues raises loyalty from 30 to 50% versus leaving problems unresolved, according to Goodman. This is crucial in a B2B environment in particular, where it can cost up to 10-20 times as much to win over new customers versus satisfactorily resolving the issues of existing ones in order to maintain their business.

2. Word of Mouth

Negative customer experiences create two to four times as much word of mouth (WOM) as positive experiences. Exceptional service will create positive word of mouth, reducing marketing expenses. This is a key point you can use to convince today’s CMOs to invest more in service.

“We have found that challenging CMOs on whether they get higher ROI from advertising or from WOM based on a great customer experience is a very effective method of gaining CMO support for investment in the call center.” notes Goodman.

3. Margin

Goodman says your customers' sensitivity to price rises exponentially when problems arise, doubling on the initial occurrence and more importantly, doubling again and again with each new occurrence.

4. Reduced Costs

For many companies, upwards of 30% of service calls are preventable if there is better customer communication up front. For example, the VOC process, by analyzing satisfaction and escalation by type of service issue, can identify responses rules that aren’t working and are creating frustrated agents. Several employee surveys have noted up to 50% of voluntary agent turnover is due to a lack of effective tools.

5. Avoidance of Legal, Regulatory, and PR Disasters

Many PR and/or legal problems as some type of unresolved customer issue. A VOC process can reduce these occurrences by up to 10% to 20%.

To read more from John Goodman, including how to make the case for service by demonstrating real financial impact, as well as a three step plan to bring customer service to center stage at your company, download the complete (free) ebook at the button below.