Customer service is often not seen as the effective marketing tool that it is. It’s no surprise: on the surface, the two departments and their goals seem distinct from one another: Marketing is all about customer acquisition (or, attracting new customers), while customer service is all about customer retention.
And yet, limiting customer service’s definition to that superficial definition ignores a big part of its potential. If you scratch beneath the surface, it becomes apparent that these two seemingly separate functions have significant overlap. The bottom line is this: Providing excellent customer service isn’t just a matter of answering customer’s questions and solving their problems. It should also be a key part of an organization’s marketing strategy.
The global market has become a battle ground where brands fight to win consumers. From new entrants to established business houses and online giants, every organization is vying for a customer’s attention and his business. So, the consumer’s perception of a brand becomes vital to its survival, growth and success. Brand perception also translates into customer experience (CX).
Having an omni-channel contact center is becoming increasingly important as channel options are diversifying and consumers are using more touch-points to interact with companies. Consequently, 
Mark your calendars! 
Fall is in the air, and with it comes the promise of Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is a time to put aside the cynicism and negativity of everyday life and be thankful for the upstanding customer service interactions that are sometimes ignored in the media in favor of more attention-grabbing negative headlines.
Millennials (those aged 18 to 30) aka Generation Y, are the next generation of customers that businesses need to attract in order to succeed. This generation is set to overtake baby boomers on spending power, and will surpass Generation X soon after that. The challenge is they are so different from past generations that businesses must adapt to a new style of customer service.
Smartphones and other mobile devices are an excellent way for your business to reach out to consumers and build loyalty with them. A recent Forrester study found that consumers who access social networking sites from a smartphone are more likely to engage with content posted by a brand than their PC counterparts.
One of the easiest ways to lose a customer is through a poor call center experience. For example, a survey by YouGov showed that 
“Customer service” is no longer an isolated function for companies. These days, when customer sentiment travels at the speed of social media, it has become part of a larger, company-wide customer engagement strategy.
