Impact of Customer Service on Sales
Customer Service’s Impact on Your Revenue
Quality customer service can significantly impact the revenue of your motorcycle website, but it is often not considered or neglected.
Let’s face it, things have changed over the last twenty years. Back then, you could throw up a website, and if you had a motorcycle product the visitor was interested in, they’d buy.
Of course, that is, if they could find your site (Google’s algorithm was still being developed back then). But today, 99% of companies have competitors selling similar products. As you know, today, Google provides very relevant and reliable results.
Too often, search engine consultants and business owners’ companies do not prioritize a quality customer experience. However, the difference between good and bad client service impacts your audience’s short- and long-term behavior. Notably, providing world-class customer service will significantly impact your bottom line.
So, how can you differentiate your company from others? The answer is not just to lower your price because this creates other problems. You need to be customer-centric and bring unique value. Excellent customer care is a big part of closing sales and essential for quality motorcycle marketing. In addition, it also significantly helps you build both repeat and future sales.
Plus, your content needs to be excellent. If people leave your site quickly, customer service doesn’t matter. Consequently, your marketers should know about motorcycle world history and ride rather than be passengers to produce better content.
Excellent Client Services Statistics
- 93% of customers are likelier to buy again from a company with excellent client experience (Hubspot.com).
- 90% of customers consider a company’s client service when deciding whether or not to do business with a company (Microsoft.com).
Aspects of Good Client Experience:
- Quality, quick responses to your customers
- Have questions answered quickly and easily on your site. Note that your motorcycle website design consultants should have created a list of FAQs. Also, your site should have installation and care instructions.
- Orders are received earlier than expected.
- The product is as described on your biker website.
- The product isn’t damaged.
- Clear instructions are provided in the shipment if appropriate.
- A personalized thank you note with a signature (not a copy of a signature) in the package.
- A coupon for future sales is valuable, not just for the client to buy again but also to give to their friends who ride.
- Possibly, a gift item that is related to the purchased product is included. And, of course, it must be of value to your clients. Note that having something unrelated, like candy with a set of motorcycle pipes, is just wasting money.
- A follow-up email, not trying to sell them but to see how the customer likes your product, is helpful. You can also ask their thoughts on the service and the buying process. In addition, this allows your biker business an opportunity to ask for other input.
Quality Customer Service Example
Have you had excellent or poor customer care that changed your future interaction with a company? Here’s an example of how it impacted my interaction with a company because of its excellent client experience. In the 1980s, my uncle bought a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses. Shortly after he had the glasses, his dog sat on them and broke them.
Afterward, he spoke with Ray-Ban’s client service department on the phone. Then he mailed the sunglasses to them, including an honest note about why they broke. He asked them to repair the sunglasses and send him a bill.
Within a very short period of shipping the sunglasses, my uncle received a package from Ray-Ban. A note said they appreciated his purchase and understood that things happen. Rather than repair his glasses, they gave him new ones! Almost 40 years later, my uncle still only wears Ray-Ban sunglasses. And after hearing how excellent my customer experience was, I’ve worn them for decades.
As you might expect, their excellent client service has won them long-term customers. My uncle and I have purchased at least 15 pairs of Ray-Ban glasses. Now, Ray-Bans are competitively priced. However, I don’t even look at other sunglasses companies when I need new motorcycle sunglasses.
If I shopped around, I could save 5% to 10%. But I don’t shop around to save maybe $20 because of its excellent customer service. So, what Ray-Ban accomplished was drastically increasing the lifetime customer value with my uncle and me.
For the below calculations, I use today’s dollar value. Now, you might not be familiar with the manufacturing cost of sunglasses. But let’s say my uncle paid $160 for the Ray-Ban glasses, which cost them probably less than $25 to make.
So, their gross profit was still $135 ($160 – $25). And yes, Ray-Ban had overhead and shipping costs; let’s say they still made $80 in net profit. My uncle and I have purchased over $2,400 in sunglasses due to their customer-centric focus.
Importantly, there is a big difference in the cost of getting a sale from a new vs. repeat customer.
* It costs between five and 25 times more to get a new customer than it costs to keep an existing one (Invespcro.com).
Creating Brand Evangelists
Also, because of Ray-Ban’s excellent customer service, my uncle and I have told many people about the company over the decades. He and I have become Ray-Ban “brand evangelists.” Note that a brand evangelist is someone who is so satisfied and excited about a product or a brand that they tell people about it. Now, decades later, I’m still a Ray-Ban brand evangelist, so much so that I’m writing this positive, extensive review and recommendation.
Poor Customer Client Statistics
* 71% of consumers stated that if they received poor customer care, they would no longer buy from that company (Truelist.co).
* 65% of customers will change to a different brand because of a poor experience (Khoros.com).
Poor Customer Service Example
Next, here’s a HYPOTHETICAL example. Let’s say my uncle got poor client service instead of excellent service.
Three weeks after my uncle sent in the glasses, he heard nothing back from the company. Eventually, he called them and got their voicemail. After a few days, he called them back and left another message. When there was still no response, he called and left another message.
Five days later, he calls and gets someone on the phone this time. The customer person doesn’t know much about the model of sunglasses he purchased, and this client care person also has no idea about repairing glasses. So, they say their manager will call them back.
After seven days, the manager called and abruptly told my uncle, “Well, sorry. We don’t believe that it is our fault. Maybe you should have been a little more careful. You can buy new ones, but the discount is no longer good. Or we can ship you back your glasses, but you’d need to pay for the shipping plus $20 in handling.”
What would have happened if this was my uncle’s experience with Ray-Ban? Well, neither of us would have ever purchased Ray-Ban’s again. And both of us would have told more people about the horrible experience than we have about the great experience.
I’m not saying your motorcycle company should replace all the products the end-user broke. But the closer your business can get to world-class customer service, the better for your bottom line.
Importantly, as strange as it may sound, negative feedback is beneficial because you know where to make changes. And these changes/improvements will increase your future conversion rate and total sales.
Great Customer Experience Impact
The above is just one example of how excellent customer service improves sales, conversion rates, and return shoppers. There are many other areas and ways most motorcycle websites’ client service can be improved. Even if this creates more work for your service and marketing people, it will be worth it.
And it isn’t only gaining 5%, 10%, or more in sales in the first year. Your company will not lose lifetime customers. Plus, world-class customer service helps your satisfied customers not just shop by price, which will significantly impact your bottom line.
You might be hesitant about how long it will take to improve your customers’ experience. But there is some excellent news – you can automate your client service and marketing!
Also, unhappy clients will receive fewer incoming calls and emails when you do this. Ultimately, automation can improve customer service and free up their time. And there are other items your client service reps can do to help make your customers’ experience even better!
Finally, it would help if you read our article on marketing statistics. You can also learn more about marketing your biker business on our Marketing Academy blog.
