Did you know American customers are willing to pay more for good customer service? According to this article from Business News Daily, consumer research done by American Express recently showed that customers will spend up to 13 percent more for what they perceive as excellent customer service. As the recession lightens up, that figure is up considerably from 2010. That means it’s time to tune up your customer service and make sure it’s not good, but excellent. Two-thirds of Americans are sure businesses aren’t paying increased attention to customer service, while a quarter of that group also thinks businesses are actually paying less attention to it.

Great service drives customer satisfaction, loyalty and sales. It’s a “must-do”, according to one expert. Once a customer has a bad experience, he or she may tell as many as 16 people about it, compared to the 9 people they would tell when they have a good experience. The power of this kind of word-of-mouth can’t be understated.

Customer service management needs to be an integral part of your business if you are to lure people back into it as the economy improves. Superior service may cost your company something, but it should be looked upon as an investment that will pay off in the end. It’s really an investment in the future of your company.