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Customer service is everywhere: Why the service department is the heart of your business
Discover why the service department is the heart of your business and how customer service is present everywhere.
An efficient helpdesk or customer service is the lifeline of your company. However, a customer service department can only be successful if it is integrated with other departments within the business.
The importance of customer service can hardly be overstated. Customers who have had a pleasant and efficient interaction with customer service are not only satisfied but also remain loyal to the company. And when you consider that customer retention is far more cost-effective than acquiring new customers, you realize that customer service is crucial for a company's survival. Sales may be silver, but customer loyalty is gold.
Moreover, in many manufacturing companies, customer service is becoming even more important as services play an increasingly significant role in their business models. According to a recent study by ABN Amro, major machinery manufacturers like ASML (high-tech), Marel (food), Philips (medical), and Vestas (wind energy) now generate 20 to 40 percent of their revenue from services (ABN Amro, Services as a Revenue Model for the Industry, A Step-by-Step Guide to Servitization). In Belgium as well, companies are increasingly focusing on servitization, with Atlas Copco, ADPO, and BORGinsole as notable examples.
How do you build a successful customer service team?
One of the requirements for this is that customer service is seamlessly integrated with the rest of the company. The service department essentially becomes the nerve center of the business, with constant feedback loops connecting to other departments such as sales, marketing, product development, inventory management, and field service.
We’ve identified four feedback loops—discover them below.
Sales and service: two sides of the same coin
The connection between customer service and sales is vital, yet often underestimated. When support teams have access to essential sales information—such as purchase history, contract details, or contact preferences—they can resolve issues more efficiently, reducing wait times and delivering a smoother customer experience. This synergy is equally valuable in digital interactions. For instance, a customer logging into a portal can receive more precise assistance from a chatbot if it’s equipped with their purchase history. Conversely, the sales team also benefits from insights into the service department. Maintaining strong customer relationships requires salespeople to stay informed about any issues and their resolutions. Furthermore, service representatives, who often interact with customers more frequently, are well-positioned to identify potential sales opportunities, such as upselling or cross-selling. By fostering collaboration, businesses can enhance both customer satisfaction and revenue growth.
Customer operations in field service
Field service teams and maintenance technicians serve as an extension of the help desk, often stepping in as on-site heroes to resolve issues at the customer’s location. To ensure seamless operations, maintaining a strong connection with customer service is essential. Today, help desks provide customers with a variety of communication channels to report issues—email, chat, chatbots, virtual agents, and social media. However, there’s also a more proactive approach that’s gaining traction. At the customer site, smart sensors integrated into machines or production lines can gather valuable data, such as temperature or humidity levels. When these sensors detect that certain thresholds are nearing or have been exceeded, they can trigger notifications sent directly to service staff via IoT platforms or service management software. These timely alerts enable the help desk to dispatch the right field service personnel promptly, ensuring issues are addressed before they escalate. In many cases, these alerts may also signal the need for replacement parts or spare components, making integration with inventory management systems crucial. This proactive, tech-enabled approach not only streamlines operations but also empowers service teams to deliver faster, more effective solutions.
A wealth of information for marketing
Customer service is a goldmine of insights that can greatly benefit marketing efforts. As content marketing becomes a central focus for many marketing teams, understanding the information customers actively seek is crucial. Content marketers strive to craft material that directly addresses customer questions—and no department is better equipped to identify these questions than customer service. On the flip side, it's equally essential for customer service teams to stay informed about marketing initiatives. Campaigns often lead to spikes in traffic and an increase in service requests. By keeping the service team updated on upcoming campaigns, they can proactively allocate resources and ensure seamless support, creating a smoother experience for customers.
Feedback for product development
Companies are increasingly prioritizing the 'voice of the customer' to refine their products and services, and customer service serves as the perfect gateway for this valuable feedback. By fostering stronger collaboration between customer service and teams like R\&D, product development, and operations, organizations can unlock meaningful insights. Customer service teams are uniquely positioned to uncover customer needs, preferences, and emerging market trends. This feedback is an indispensable resource for driving innovation and enhancing product development efforts.
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