Why Customer Support Is Your Marketing Strategy's Best Friend

By Donald Smithon

Let's say you've started managing your brand's online activity. You're molding g your brand's personality and handling all your business' social accounts. Promotion for your business is doing well, but you want more creative content for better results.

And just when you think you're running out of ideas, your customers start sending you emails. You can leave that to the people handling customer support. But if you're a smart business owner, you can turn those emails into a marketing opportunity.

It sounds like two far out ideas, but customer support and marketing actually go hand-in-hand. When you're promoting your business, you want to show prospective customers your relationship with your present ones and how you handle situations with them. This is your chance to show people why they should choose your brand.

Here are the benefits of using customer support for your next marketing strategy.

1. Gives you an opportunity to be proactive for your customers

You can have potential customers knocking at your door, but the real question is: are you keeping your current ones comfortable? When you not only entertain concerns but actually do everything you can in your power to help your consumers get the best services, you can be sure your customers are more likely to remain loyal.

And sometimes, if you're lucky enough, you get people who take time off their busy lives to screenshot the way you handle situations, and get them to post their satisfaction on social media.

That's what happened to UK-based Reddit user Doug D. when he ordered a sweatshirt off American website Archival Clothing. Someone on customer support noticed a sweatshirt in a shopping cart that was never checked out. They found that the shipping costs were high, and was probably why Doug never bought the sweatshirt.

Archival emailed Doug suggesting ways to ship the order for less. Doug ended up ordering more than just the sweatshirt. The brand actively addressed a customer problem that wasn't raised by the customer.

When you find ways to give your customers the best service, they will end up satisfied and may even endorse your brand on social sites. That's marketing you get for free.

2. Improves communication between you and your customers

If you provide a way for your customers to reach you, you have to do your part and answer questions and help them with their concerns. Showing customers you care about them builds trust.

You're not only building trust, but a reputation for your brand as well. Consumers use social media to share good and bad experiences, so brands find ways to make sure their customers have great experiences. One way for them to measure that is through customer support.

Showing them that you're here to listen and guide them will make them stay because they'll expect more from you. You can give them that when you're actively communicating with them and giving them your best.

Sometimes the best experiences your consumers can get from your brand is the way you interact. When it comes to attracting more customers, establishing a good relationship can help you gain more publicity and solidify a reputation as someone who's worth doing business with.

So what's your next marketing strategy? Well, here's an idea: you can ask your brand followers to    email customer support for concerns.