Has customer service emerged from the call centers and basements of businesses to become the defining business strategy for success? Well, if you’re to believe the results in the newly released 2012 American Express® Global Customer Service Barometer, you’d certainly lean that way.

The conclusions drawn from this report suggest that social media has elevated this business function from a supporting player to a business driver.  More specifically, it’s the growing influence of consumers adopting social media that has elevated them to such prominence in the corporate hierarchy.

Here are some of the facts in report that illustrate how customer service can make or break your business based on the increasing power of the customer voice through social (mobile, social networking, blogs, etc.) channels:

– Customers say they’d spend 21% more with companies who deliver great service, compared to 13% on average.

– More than eight in ten consumers have bailed on a purchase because of a poor service experience compared to 55% overall.

– On average social media users will tell 42 people about their good experiences, compared to 15 people overall.

Wrap up the benefits of just those three statistics and you you’ve successfully delivered an effective customer retention program, a customer acquisition strategy, a WOM/awareness campaign and a created a Public Relations team. You’ve delivered a greater sales and profit metric through social media than, likely, what the sales, marketing and PR teams combined have been able to demonstrate.

Lesson learned: today, great service has a greater exponential impact on your business’ bottom line than other business functions. Poor service has that exponential impact but in the opposite direction. The key difference today is the “exponential factor”, which makes it a compelling case for the re-channeling of budgets and strategic focus on the corporation’s customer service department.

Join the conversation:

Has the customer service function become the more important strategy to a business’ success? Share your arguments for or against below.

Join the live #bizforum debate between 8 and 9 PM Eastern tonight where we’ll challenge the premise that Customer Service is the defining indicator of success.   Join us by following #bizforum in your Twitter steam or by following www.tweetchat.com/room/bizforum.

Sam Fiorella – Sensei
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego