Why is Customer Service So Important for SaaS Companies?

The SaaS (Software as a Service) market has been experiencing exponential growth never seen before. The value of this market was nearing $160 million at the end of 2020. But this growth is also leading to market saturation and means the need for customer service is more important than ever.

How do we differentiate ourselves in such a saturated market? With good customer service. By not only offering security, politeness, or follow-up, but also by giving them the opportunity to enjoy a much more personalized and premium experience. 

  • Customer Success strategies (that is when the customer achieves the result he wants thanks to the interaction with your company) are especially important in SaaS. It must be taken into account that in these services the interaction with the customer through digital channels is constant. Customer Success strategies allow personalized attention to the different segments of our audience.
  • In addition, in SaaS, long-term service contracts are usually made, so it is not only necessary to facilitate the sales process, but also to provide constant monitoring and ongoing support over time.

Some of the strategies that we can follow for good customer service are:

  • Offer multiple channels of communication with our customers. We must not forget that in a SaaS we do not have the benefit of dealing with our customers face to face. Therefore, we must make up for this lack of real contact with numerous options: email, live chats, surveys, video calls, telephone, etc.
  • Offer minimal response times. Statistics from The State of Cx in 2020 indicate that more than 90% of customers expect a response from companies in less than 60 seconds.
  • Build a good customer service system that offers information and help before it is requested. This can be done through, for example, the FAQ, the blog, a knowledge base, the return policy, etc.
  • Invest in the right tools to support customer service: activity logging, session recording, co-browsing with customers, etc.
  • Have a specific Customer Success department.

5 Reasons why Customer Service is important from Top SaaS Experts

Reason 1 Stop the customer churn rate

One of the reasons why good customer service for a SaaS is important is to slow down customer churn. In this article, you have a detailed guide on Churn Rate.

Two out of three customers are lost by a company due to poor customer service. In other words, more than 60% of a business’s potential customers can be lost if they are not properly served. This figure automatically answers the question of why customer service matters.

In fact, as reported on the New Voice Media platform, feeling unappreciated by competitors is the number one reason customers stop buying a brand. And more than half of customers would never return to a company after a bad experience.

Reason 2 Flight to the competition

The importance of good customer service lies not only in avoiding the loss of customers or users but also in preventing them from leaving for the competition. 

Many studies and publications point to this fact.

A study carried out by Forbes points out that 32% of consumers would go to a competitor due to a bad experience with a brand. A similar figure to the one indicated in B2C on a study by American Express.

Other studies indicate that this percentage can increase to more than 80%. Be that as it may, the truth is that customers care how they are served. This is why it is so important to set up a good customer service department. It will be the first step towards the success of your strategy.

Reason 3. User value

The previous reason is closely linked to this third one: customer service is of great value to customers. In fact, it is the main reason why they stay away from a brand, well above the product’s price.

This is what the data from this study shows, highlighting that 70% of consumers claim to have paid more for a product that they could have found cheaper simply because the company offered good customer service. 

And this trend is growing. The Walker firm, a specialist in integral services for companies, affirms that the user experience already surpasses price and product as the main differentiating element.

According to Wunderman, a leading global digital agency, 79% of consumers only buy from brands that treat them well as customers. Yet another figure that confirms the value of good customer service.

Reason 4. Financial benefits

All this leads us to the fourth conclusion: offering good customer service brings financial benefits to our company.

  • Attracting new customers is more expensive than retaining existing ones. Some say it is 7 times more expensive; others say it is between 3 and 30 times, so it is in their best interest to retain customers.
  • Extend LTV (Lifetime Value), thus ensuring sales recurrence for a longer period of time. This is called the retention rate.

Reason 5. Higher reputation = more profitability 

Having customers speak well of you is the best advertising they can do for your company. And if they badmouth, the damage can be very severe. A negative review has more impact than a positive one in a proportion of almost double.

On average, it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for a negative experience. 

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If you manage to “win over” a customer with an online reputation, he may become an ambassador of your brand or company, attracting many more customers and favoring your impact on the network. This makes your marketing campaigns more effective and your investments more profitable.

One extra reason: Customer service helps us improve

Providing good customer service also helps us to implement improvements in our company, service, product, or platform. If we listen to our customers and receive their feedback in a constructive way, we will know what is wrong and we will be able to change and improve it.

Conclusions

  • The value of customer service is more apparent than ever. It is the most valued aspect by consumers, above price and product quality.
  • It generates more profits and lower expenses in customer retention/acquisition.
  • It improves the company’s image and online reputation.
  • It helps us to implement improvements in our company.

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