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Why sales teams need a customer service tool

Traditionally, sales teams and customer service have served two distinct roles with no need to overlap. However, as technology evolves, the line between the two has become blurred and now more than ever, salespeople are providing many of the same services as their customer service counterparts.

Providing solutions to customers' needs is what customer service is all about. Customers who receive good customer service feel valued, heard, and assisted throughout their buying journey while poor customer service interactions can leave them feeling confused or irritated. 

So how do salespeople fit into that? 

Sales as part of customer service 

Customers hold a lot of power because they can easily find other brands to fill their needs if their first choice doesn’t meet their expectations. That’s why most salespeople spend the majority of their time listening to customer questions and addressing their concerns. In today’s world, the trust a customer has with a brand is more important than ever because, without it, they’re far less likely to invest. 

While cold calling and sales pitches were effective in the past, customers now seek to establish a relationship with a brand before choosing to make any commitments. With that in mind, salespeople are having to let go of the stereotypical sales mindset and instead start to focus on individual customers. By listening to and connecting with customers, salespeople can learn what makes them tick and how the brand can solve their problems. 

It’s all about nurturing relationships because that’s what builds customer confidence in a brand. By demonstrating empathy and sincerity, sales teams can reassure prospective customers that they understand their needs and will continue to provide the high-quality service they expect throughout the buyer’s journey. 

Sales team vs customer service team

While there is a lot more overlap than there used to be, sales teams are still slightly different from customer service representatives. The main distinction is that customer service reps react to customer queries, requests and complaints while sales teams reach out to customers in advance. 

Customer service reps

Customer service is about responding to customers' immediate needs when they ask. That can include anything from helping them find a product to connecting them with the tech support team. Good customer service builds a personal connection with prospective buyers, reassuring them that the brand is reliable and responsive. 

Sales teams

Sales, on the other hand, is more proactive about solving customer problems. They reach out to people who need the company's product or service and then show them all the relevant benefits. To do this well, sales teams need to know which prospective customers are well-suited to the brand, their pain points, and how to relate to them personally. That way, the customers will feel valued and understood, rather than the victim of a spam sales pitch. 

The customer-focused approach to sales

As businesses worldwide have started to view sales as another facet of customer service, salespeople must learn the new approach. When dealing with a prospective customer, sales teams should ask themselves, “How am I improving this person’s experience with our company?” 

Whether or not it results in an immediate sale, each interaction with a person is part of their Customer Experience (CX) and should serve as a chance to impress. Customer Experience can no longer be seen as a combination of individual components because for the customer, it’s all one buyer’s journey. That’s why sales, customer service and every other aspect of a company should be integrated to put the customer at the centre of everything. 

Valuable customer service tools for sales teams

There are several customer service tools that sales teams can use to improve their performance. Some of the most common include: 

  • Live chat
  • Email
  • Call management
  • Knowledge centres offering relevant and helpful content
  • Social media
  • QR Codes 
  • Customer relationship management software (CRM)
  • Support tickets synced with the CRM 
  • Customer feedback management software (CFM)  

Benefits of customer service tools:

Sales teams will know that success is about more than just one interaction or transaction. Selling to a customer is one thing, but encouraging them to keep buying from your brand is another entirely. Fortunately, customer service tools have a range of benefits that help to achieve exactly that. 

Personalisation and automation 

Traditional sales tactics tend to make customers feel like just another number in a salesperson's quota, which doesn’t encourage loyalty or engagement. That’s why the use of software to personalise interactions with each customer has the power to revolutionise your sales technique. These programs make it easy to incorporate individuals' names, languages, and preferences into the digital sales process, rather than default greetings or bland generalisations. These small changes ensure your customers feel seen and heard, leading them to feel less like a statistic and more like a valued patron.  

 

Increase customer satisfaction 

When sales teams have the information and resources they need to respond to customers quickly, they can provide better service. Customers who receive better service are more likely to become loyal customers and promote the brand to others. Higher customer retention generally means more sales, meaning sales teams should take their customer service role seriously and use technologies that help them do so. 

 

Streamline your processes

Customers have higher expectations than ever which means sales and customer service teams need to work seamlessly together. To achieve that kind of streamlined process, automated and integrated customer service systems are crucial because they ensure everyone is on the same page. This way, communication between internal teams is simple and clear, ensuring the customer receives consistently excellent service. 

With the right tools, employees can have access to the customer information they need, whenever they need it. In turn, agents are more motivated and prepared to provide better service, leading to increased productivity and better use of resources. For example, Review Tui makes it easier to extract valuable insights from the responses by creating a centralised dashboard, automation and built-in analytics. 

Review Tui strives to make customer feedback as simple and helpful as possible. With it, you can cultivate a framework that improves your entire Customer Experience. 

For more advice and tools to support your sales team, sign up for the Review Tui launch later this year. 

 

Download our free customer feedback strategy guide