Customers of today are spoiled for choice. One unfortunate experience with a company, and they won’t take much time to switch to a competitor.

It doesn’t matter which industry your business is in or how fast it’s scaling up. If you don’t focus on customer service from the start, you will bleed revenue.

Here are a few statistics highlighting the importance of customer service:

— 73% of customers say excellent customer service influences their brand loyalties.

— 95% of customers discuss their bad experiences with others; and, as we know, word of mouth travels fast.

— 89% of businesses will compete majorly on customer experience in the future.

Social Media Channels Are Great, but Live Chat Stands Out

Customers who get their queries or complaints resolved from businesses via social media spend 20-40% more on those businesses. However, 62% of customers are more likely to repurchase from a company that offers live-chat support.

That’s right: 62%.

In the last couple of years, live-chat has emerged as a powerful platform for resolving customer issues. A 2010 Forrester study found that customers say having their questions answered by a live person on chat, in the middle of a purchase, is one of the most important features offered by any website. That remains unchanged even after a decade.

Let’s take a look at how delivering live-chat support to customers makes all the difference in my first article for MarketingProfs.