Customer service has become a differentiating factor, making it easier for people to choose between businesses. Better customer service generally gets more customers.

If just to increase your bottom line, your organization should be paying attention to customer service. As a blog post  entitled “Companies That Ignore Customer Service are in Trouble” on Benzinga indicates,customer service can increase stock price:

Have you noticed the companies with a reputation for great customer service are also the companies that have seen better performance out of their stocks during these difficult fiscal times? Think of Southwest Airlines (LUV:NYSE) and Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) – companies known for going above and beyond for their customers all the while their stocks have appreciated 65% and 86%, respectively, over the past year.

The post makes the point that excellent customer service is a low-cost way to increase your profit. Making customer service a priority can really impact a company’s bottom line in the present, but also for future business. Customers are more likely to do repeat business with a company that has treated them well in the past.

In fact, according to findings in the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer survey, 91% of customers surveyed said that customer service is  a factor they consider when deciding to do business with a company, and will spend, on average 9% more when they receive excellent service. Read more about how the survey was completed and other interesting information gleaned from this study here.

These eye-popping statistics are really proof of how important customer service is to a company’s bottom line. To ignore customer service is to throw potential business away.