You know plenty of ways to attract customers and you can probably rattle off a laundry list of reasons why customer service is important. You need an accessible, responsive support staff that knows how to give answers, an informative website that’s easy to navigate, and a transparent user policy. These are all crucial for retaining happy customers. After all, customer loyalty is the holy grail of business success.

Since the truly important benefits of customer loyalty may already be obvious to you, read on for five secondary benefits that will come from running a solid customer service department at your company:

1. Brand Advocacy 

What marketers call brand advocates is what you call your most devoted customer base. They’re the ones who love your product so much, they’ll rave about it to their friends. When you’ve got a loyal group of brand advocates who also use social media, you’ve hit the jackpot. Take advantage of customer loyalty by setting up social media platforms that allow customers to interact with your brand. Get your brand advocates talking about you on social media. Word of mouth marketing will do wonders for your bottom line.

2. Direct Referral 

Direct referral is another marketing term that refers to people who have come to your service after a recommendation from someone who is already a customer. You don’t have to do anything to grab their attention, as your satisfied customer has already done that for you. To be sure direct referrals turn into actual sales, make your product’s information and FAQs accessible. With a knowledgeable staff and a simple, informative website, you should have no problem striking a deal with interested buyers.

3. Re-Claiming Dissatisfied Customers 

Loyal customers typically have had no problems with your product or service, so they already associate it with a good value. For customers who have had trouble and contacted you about it, they’re your strongest candidates for building unwavering loyalty. If you can properly resolve their issue (with support that’s efficient, responsive ,and hassle-free), they’ll be grateful for your help and more likely to be willing to overlook their initial frustrations.

4. Formulated Price Structure 

If you have a stable customer base, there’s no need to reduce your price to attract one-time buyers just looking for a good deal. You want the buyers that will come back because of the unique, useful product or service you provide. Apple is an example of that. Their products cost well above the going rate for laptops and smartphones from equally reputable brands. While Apple is a high-value brand with cutting-edge software, what separates them from the pack is that they’ve created a fiercely loyal following.

5. Specialization 

Your marketing efforts can really take off when you know who your buyers are. Tracking your customers’ buying habits means you can focus on marketing goods that you know people will buy, instead of wasting time creating products that people don’t want. Take, for example, the case study of this small suburban market. The owner knew that in a year’s time, a supermarket would be opening down the road. He knew that the competitor’s longer store hours, lower prices, and larger range of goods could lure his customers away and put him out of business.

While he figured he’d lose clientele shopping purely out of convenience, he did have a base of customers calling in for specialty items on their way home from work. Over the months, he expanded his selection of specialty brands and he stopped ordering generic foods that the large supermarket would carry. His customer base did change, but he was able to create a loyal network of regular shoppers.

Learn how to train and motivate employees to give great service, maximize every customer interaction, and much more, by reading this free salesforce.com e-book.