Customer Care have the secret to your success

Hi there 👋,

When we look at growth, too often our gaze falls only on marketing, brand and development.

And while these guys are important - I won’t even try to claim they’re not - you’re missing someone in this line-up!

Namely, your Customer Care team.

And this easy mistake is costing you because they hold the secret to your success.

What’s so special about Customer Care?

Your Customer Care team are on the front line.

They’re taking all of the crap; they get to hear every complaint, every issue, every ridiculous request.

And all of this negativity? It’s a growth goldmine.

Because this is what your customers are saying, or rather, what you’re customers are desiring. The key to a successful business is tapping into that desire.

Your Customer Care team can tell you what is working, and more importantly, what isn’t working.

They can tell you what doubts potential customers have, or the reason why someone wouldn’t recommend your product or service.

These potential insights are key growth opportunities that can take your brand to the next level.

I almost missed a growth opportunity

Back when I was the Head of Growth at Heights, a braincare company offering brain supplements, I was one day approached by a member of the Customer Care team, Ruby.

She explained that they wasted a lot of time each day answering questions about other supplements and medications someone might be taking.

People weren’t sure whether Heights would interfere with other prescriptions.

At first, it seemed like a matter of company resources being spent on a repeated question.

I didn’t want the team to be wasting time that could be used elsewhere.

But then I realised that this was more than that, this was an opportunity for growth.

Because this was a doubt in our potential customer’s minds, this was something stopping them from purchasing our product.

So we found a solution together that saved time for our Customer Care team and engaged potential customers.

By our next meeting, Ruby created an additional supplement checker that customers could use to confirm that our product wouldn’t interfere.

How can you get the most out of your Customer Care team?

1. Organise a regular meeting to walk through the following questions:

   1. What are the most frequent questions that potential and existing customers ask? How do you answer these questions?

   2. What are the key concerns customers indicate before and after purchase?

   3. What information is available on the website but customers rarely seem to find it?

   4. What do they indicate as valuable features or benefits of the product/service?

   5. What are the biggest frustrations customers experience that you can and cannot solve?

   6. If you could change just a few things, what would those be?

2. Spend 1 hour on customer care each month. I did this back at Heights, and it helped me understand our customers and find quick fixes to improve their experience.

3. Create a structured method to analyse feedback and see which trends are occurring.

4. Have a representative of Customer Care in each growth meeting to provide feedback and input.

Recommendation

In every edition of Growth Waves, I also share a related resource to check out related to the week's topic. None are affiliates.

This week, your recommendation comes directly from Charlotte, the Customer Care Manager at Heights. She’s an incredible advocate for putting the customer first (and an incredible nutritionist too!).

She recommends subscribing to Eli Weiss’ newsletter, which focuses on CX and retention leanings.

Additionally, consider getting a copy of Delivering Happiness’ by Tony Hsieh.

Let the CEO of Zappos tell you how a customer-centric approach enabled them to grow to the point that they were purchased by Amazon in a 1.2 billion dollar deal.

Every brand has something to learn from Customer Care. They’re your direct line to your customers, so listen to what they have to say.

They may not even realise how vital their findings are, so create a space where they can comfortably share their insight.

Whenever I work with a brand, I’m eager to get in touch with their Customer Care and discover everything I can.

Are you ready to listen to yours? You won’t regret it.

Daphne