[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/10\/21\/the-future-of-the-c-suite-and-customer-service\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/10\/21\/the-future-of-the-c-suite-and-customer-service\/","headline":"Customer service: The crucial skill at the crux of the c-suite","name":"Customer service: The crucial skill at the crux of the c-suite","description":"Today, the c-suite is expected to weave together a very human organization and meet very high modern customer service expectations.","datePublished":"2019-10-21","dateModified":"2023-03-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/#Person","name":"Tracey Wallace","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/","identifier":367,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/21377d3250d3cee37a219265f855ca86717424033839661349c4b6845d2250cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/21377d3250d3cee37a219265f855ca86717424033839661349c4b6845d2250cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/thumbnail-0105b2a1bfee1ff36cfb8b85206d5c05.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/thumbnail-0105b2a1bfee1ff36cfb8b85206d5c05.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/10\/21\/the-future-of-the-c-suite-and-customer-service\/","about":["B2C Commerce",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/service\/customer-service\/","name":"Customer Service","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_service","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1060653"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/e-commerce\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]},"Retail Trends, Data, News",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/service\/","name":"Service","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Service","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q7406919"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/social-media\/","name":"Social Media","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Social_media","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q202833"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":1197,"keywords":["Customer Service","Customer Service Trends","Future of Customer Experience","Future of the C-suite"],"articleBody":"Customer service used to be silo-ed as a department within large, enterprise organizations. Often labeled \u201csupport,\u201d parts of customer service migrated over to marketing with the rise of social media.\u00a0Soon, technology companies were using customer service and support calls, chats, and sites as a way to prioritize bugs or future product improvements.These days, you\u2019re hard pressed to find a technology company that won\u2019t tell you to go upvote a customer service chat so that \u201cthe feature you are looking for becomes a priority for the company.\u201dBut customer service doesn’t stop there \u2013 it’s a critical issue for the c-suite.When customer service becomes a sales problemMedia and publications report often on bad customer service experiences, like when Rent the Runway was a few days late with their shipments, just at a time when competition in their space is heating up. And we know consumers are quick to take to social media to report bad service.Then, customer service becomes a sales problem.How do you answer questions about customer service follies?\u00a0How do you make sure potential customers know it won\u2019t happen again \u2013 or at least what steps the company took to rectify the action?\u00a0Moreover, how will this salesperson be the best customer service rep right now on the phone with this future customer in order to close the deal?      Sales and service working together: Aligning for success                Sales and service working together can dramatically improve CX, customer loyalty, customer retention, and the bottom line.      Customer service is no longer silo-ed. It need not be its own department. Aspects of customer service are becoming major priorities within marketing and sales teams \u2013 and it is the c-suite who is expected to be able to weave together a very human organization with the very high modern customer service expectations.\u00a0But how can you build in customer service experience into executive roles that years ago required, well, very little? Can modern executives close the chasm between their respective fields and the new expectations of service and a customer-first mentality?\u00a0      What is customer service in 2025: Definition, benefits, and examples                More than pricing, and even the product itself, customer service is a huge driver of customer loyalty. Discover all you need to know about customer service in this deep dive.      Best practices and best-in-class at customer service pre-saleFirst and foremost, customer service doesn\u2019t necessarily mean someone at your company is talking directly to a future or existing customer. For technology giants, content often fills this role.\u00a0Leading enterprises produce various forms of content around customer service like blogs, videos, podcasts, and social media posts across various channels every week.Much of that content is how-to oriented \u2013 not just for technology and solutions, but for e-commerce in generalContent can vary in length, and should include quotes from non-internal brand experts in the field, and step-by-step visuals on how to set this up for yourselfIdeas to include in the content includes: downloaded checklists, calendars, and the likeThe goal here is two-fold:Earn an audience through organic search to better manage LTV:CACEarn the trust of future customers by educating them prior to selling themIn fact, you can see this playing out in spaces where online advertising isn\u2019t a possibility \u2013 like CBD. Brands like Canvas 1839 or CBDistillery have massive content libraries to educate readers and win trust before the sale.\u00a0For other brands, like ScaleFactor, content plays a huge role in customer service pre-sale, but not just written content. For them, tools and calculators also drive up brand engagement and help serve potential customers long before they sign on the dotted line.\u00a0      The power of content marketing: Scientific proof that it works                Doubting the power of content marketing? Not for long: A new study shows that content marketing makes consumers 131% more likely to purchase.      Best practices and best-in-class at customer service post-salePost-sale customer service includes how you help on-board customers, as well as how quickly you can help answer their questions. But those really going above and beyond in post-sale customer service or customer aftercare have built out customer service programs that speak to the target customer, making them feel even better for buying from the brand.\u00a0For instance, Patagonia\u2019s Wear Worn program encourages customers to send clothes back in rather than throwing them away where they end up in a landfill. This is a resonating point Patagonia\u2019s customers who are nature-lovers very concerned by how people are treating the planet. To them, closed loop production matters. A lot.\u00a0Even up and coming brands are using this kind of post-sale customer service to resonate with their customers, and build brand loyalty and affinity (after all, it all comes back to LTV:CAC).Take A Day for example, which just launched a Carbon Offset Buy Back program which their customers can purchase. A Day\u2019s customer base are travelers, but traveling has a high carbon footprint. And more recently, frequent fliers who claim to be eco-conscious have been called out via the #FlightShaming hashtag. A Day helps to solve this, giving their customers a way to offset their carbon footprint when flying.\u00a0      What does customer aftercare mean | Definition, examples, benefits                Customer aftercare refers to post-sale customer service. It includes all of the steps, actions, communications, and processes that take place after a sale to keep customers satisfied, engaged, and loyal.      The future of the c-suite: How marketing & sales execs can sharpen their customer service chopsSo, if the future of the c-suite depends on service, how can marketing and sales executives sharpen their customer service skills?Well, watching the market in general to see what others are doing is one great way. But beyond that, the first step is to listen to your customers. Here are a few ideas:Hop on sales calls: Hop on a sales call at least once a week to hear how your product is being sold and where you can make customer service improvements to increase brand trust and affinity in potential customers. Alternatively, you can record all sales calls and listen to at least one a week. This should be a requirement for all non-sales employees.\u00a0Hop on case study calls: There shouldn\u2019t only be one marketer in your organization who has all the tribal knowledge about why customers love your brand. Hop on a case study call at least once a week (or record them) to understand why customers love your brand, why they love your brand over competitors, and what they wish you\u2019d do a bit better. Then, do those things.\u00a0Find your tribe 100: With the calls above and working with your team, find the 100 customers who love your brand the most \u2013\u2013 and would do anything for you. Then, create a special Facebook or Slack group to invite them to. In there, run new marketing ideas and campaigns by them, gauge their reactions, and work with them to better your business, both for existing customers and potential new ones.\u00a0  How does your customer service stack up to the competition?Find out how top B2B companies are transforming service.We’ve got the deets HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/10\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"21","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/10\/\/21\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Customer service: The crucial skill at the crux of the c-suite","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/10\/21\/the-future-of-the-c-suite-and-customer-service\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]