The New Customer Service Trend that’s Shaking Up the Marketing Industry (In a Good Way!)

March 01, 2017

By Sherice Jacob

When it comes to customer service trends, most marketers and customer support teams groan and shake their head. Here’s another glimpse into supposedly “what customers want” that’s supposed to make them beat a path to our doors.

Except it rarely works out that way – and customer service suffers as a result of it.

But now, a new trend is catching on that could change all of that. And calling it a trend is really doing a disservice to the notion at all. What it should be called is “the way service should always have been done”.

It’s called customer-first marketing – and it’s changing everything you think you know about how your prospects think, act and react. Let’s take a closer look:

What is Customer-First Marketing?

First, let me ask you a question – as a marketer, how would you describe customer-first marketing if you weren’t sure what it was?

Many will say, “well, we need to build a marketing and sales strategy around convincing users to try our product or service and become customers. Once they’re in the funnel, we advertise to them based on where they are in the buying stage and hope to grow repeat business.”

This is a solid marketing strategy, but it’s not customer-first marketing. When you start with “We need to build…” you’re already discounting the customer and their needs. If anything, they’re more of an after-thought – a mindless object that only comes into play once the funnels are built and the strategies executed.

Let’s take a look at another example. Let’s say a client wants to meet with you to explore your solution further. Your sales people march in like an army under strict orders and pressures to sell. After all, they’ve got quotas to meet!

Customer-first marketing turns both of these examples on their heads. It involves a lot of discussion and back-and-forth with the customer to discover a solution that truly works for both parties. It’s a method where sales are the secondary focus.

Now, don’t panic.

Because although you’re conducting a lot of research and having a lot of discussion and making a lot of choices and getting feedback, all of this may seem like a huge lead weight on the actual marketing process, but in fact with customer-first marketing, it’s the most crucial piece.

What is the Difference Between Customer-Centric Marketing and Customer-First Marketing?

Now, you may hear the phrase “customer-first marketing” and think it’s just another spin on the often-cited “customer-centric marketing” strategy. But here is the main difference:

Customer-centric marketing aims strategies AT the customer. You are looking at the customer as an end-goal. Customer-first marketing revolves AROUND the customer. You are making them an integral part of your marketing, research and development.

In December of 2016, MarketingSherpa released a comprehensive study detailing what measures contributed the most to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is one of the highest notches to strive for on the customer-first marketing barometer, and these insights demonstrate a very revealing path toward the end goal.

The Big Question: What Do Satisfied Customers …read more

Source:: Kiss Metrics Blog

      

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