Greetings:
It's been said that common sense ain't so common.
I love talking strategy when it comes to customer retention. It excites me to develop game plans so both customers and employees walk out the door saying: "I got WOWed!"
More times than not, the best strategies are common sense—elementary basics in one human taking great care of another human.
And yet, I'm blown away when companies and individuals miss the most basic of basics. It's costly, it's painful and it's not the way to run a successful business.
This month's issue looks at the most common reason why customers go to the competition. I'd also say it's the number one reason your valued employees go to your competition. Please read the article, share my pain and look for ways you can enhance common sense in your community.
Oh and by the way—be sure to take a moment and truly enjoy the summer season. Smell a rose, watch a sun set, get up early and watch the sun rise, add some extra squeeze to those hugs you give and receive. And, keep making a difference!
Featured Article
Keep More Customers
by Mark Rosenberger, CSP
According to several studies, the number one reason customers go away is an "attitude of neglect or indifference."
Stated differently, customer loyalty is eroded not by price, competitive advantage but by small acts which in one way or another communicate a spirit of disregard.
Certainly price and competitive advantage are important ingredients in the "keeping customers for life" game, but a vast majority (over 60%) of malcontents state someone's attitude as the reason for changing companies. And I can assure you, it wasn't because folks had a positive, can-do attitude!
I received a rude reminder of this important stat last week when I was on an annual "Dude Trip" outing with my 12 year old son. We decided to play golf till we dropped for two days which included one night's lodging and dinner at our chosen destination.
I must say, we had a blast together. We shot 36 holes the first day and retired to dinner, swam in a hot natural springs pool (boy did my body need that after 36 holes), relived the glory moments of the day and finally had a restful nights sleep.
Day two started with breakfast and more golf. We were having such a magical time together, I decided to look into staying over for one additional evening-the natural springs hot pool was calling my name. I called the reservation center to inquire on the process and rates. The response was priceless…or should I say costly.
Please stop for a moment and get a clear picture of the setting before I offer the priceless response: I'm having the time of my life playing golf with my son-what could be better? We're both playing better than we've ever played (just ask us!). I feel as if I'm building HUGE memories with my son as we discuss everything under the sun between great golf shots. The resort we're at is not packed during the summer and could certainly use the additional revenue and positive word of mouth exposure. I'm a willing customer who wants to spend more of my hard earned money with their property. The call is made and the priceless response I earn is: "Can you call back in 5 minutes—we're having a meeting." Not really a question, more of a command.
I held the phone away from my ear in disbelief. Perhaps I'm hypersensitive because I spend every week of the year working with companies on leveraging opportunities to double repeat and referral business. Possibly I was stunned that in a time of tough economic challenges for many companies, someone would be so clueless at such a critical moment.
One thing I know for sure: the number one reason customers don't come back is "an attitude of neglect or indifference." We didn't stay a second night…at that location.
I'm tempted to send the management a "Value of a Customer" study. It details in specific dollar terms of how much revenue walked out the door with that response. Sending my article, "Attitude is Everything" might help but then again, who knows, I don't think they'd understand.
All I know is that one more time, this important statistic has been verified: the number one reason customers go to the competition is a perceived attitude of neglect or indifference.
What can we learn from these stats and this experience?
1. Loyalty is hard to earn and easy to lose.
2. We need to be ever aware of our attitudes when dealing with customers. Sure, you feel like the plate spinner with 50,000 things going on at once, but your customer doesn't care.
3. Tonality over the phone sends a message that over-rides the words. I recorded the receptionist at twenty companies offering their initial greetings. The tape is played in many programs as I invite participants to score their impression: WOW! or Ho-Hum. Out of twenty calls, only one response WOW!'s the group. The words are right in the other 19 greetings, but the attitudes and tonality seem to say: "This would be a pretty great place to work if it weren't for the pesky customers."; or "Can you call back in 5 minutes—we're having a meeting."
I see it's time for golf so off I go. Perhaps today I'll find companies who are aware of this important stat and will use it to their advantage.
Go WOW! your team!
Lessons of the Trapeze
Trapeze Buddy Success Characteristic:
Being Present
Have you ever spoken to someone and knew the lights were on but no one was home? How about the times when you are talking to someone but you know their mind is in 473 other places. They might be physically there but they're on mental vacation.
Trapeze Buddy super stars know how to be present with the people they're working with. "Being Present", "Be in the moment", "pay-attention-to-the-task-and-person-at-hand" are all phrases describing the desired goal: Let people know you care by actually being mentally and physically with them.
Multitasking is a nice ability unless it sends the wrong message: "I'm listening but what you have to say isn't all that important so I'll just work on two other items at the same time."
If the number one reason we lose customers is an attitude of neglect or indifference, it's time to tune in, pay attention and focus your efforts on the person of the moment.
That's what winning Trapeze Buddies do!
