What happens when brands stop focusing solely on customer acquisition, and start paying attention to customer retention.
Fantasy VS. Reality
– 80% of businesses believe they deliver “superior” customer service.
– 8% of customers believe they have experienced SUPERIOR service from those same businesses.
Damage Done
– 20% of consumers left a regular service provider due to poor customer service in 2012.
– 55% backed out of a transaction or purchase based on a poor service experience.
– 35% lost their temper with a customer service rep in the past year.
– 24% of those who lost their tempers used social media to talk about their experiences with that company.
On average, consumers tell 15 people about Good Experiences but they tell 24 about their Bad Experiences
– Estimated annual loss to U.S. businesses due to poor customer service is $83 billion.
– The average amount a customer would have spent with a business if only they hadn’t left due to poor service is $289.
Causes of customer dissatisfaction
– 78% of consumers claim they would leave a service provider if a service delivered is different from what is implied.
– 77% if dealing with unfriendly or impolite customer service agents.
– 73% after having to contact customer service multiple times for the same reason.
– 71% when they encounter business policies such as inflexible returns and poor warranties.
– 65% after being left on hold for a long time.
It doesn’t have to be this way
– 85% of consumers who have quit a business say they would have remained customers if the business had acted differently to prevent them from switching.
– 67% would have stayed if their issue was resolved during their first contact with the business.
– 54% claim they might have stayed if they were rewarded for doing business with the provider.
What customers expect (besides competitively priced products and services which work flawlessly)
– 46% want to speak with a real person on the phone for difficult inquiries.
– 73% want ease of access to customer service
– 69% want access to faster customer service.
– 38% are satisfied with clear information posted to company websites for simple inquiries.
– 50% feel it is extremely important that customer service representatives know their client history based on previous interactions.
Nice companies finish first
– 66% of consumers are willing to spend more with a company they believe provides excellent customer service.
– 41% of consumers willing to spend more with a company providing excellent customer service prefer to support smaller companies.
– 9% willing to spend more with larger companies.
– It costs 5 times as much to acquire new customers as it does to keep those you already have.
be nice to the customers you have, you’ll win the customers you want.
