With so many choices available for marketing, how do we know what is the best investment for us? Well, there’s one marketing choice that is a great investment for everyone, no matter what type of business you’re in. What is this magic method? Superior customer service.
You may be wondering how customer service relates to marketing. Well, I believe everything we do when we interact with our customers is sending a message about how important we believe they are and how much we want to work with them. It is letting them know how well we can meet their needs – and isn’t that really what marketing is all about?
We’ve all heard it said that it is much less expensive to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. Well, it’s true in every business. So, given that we know it is less expensive (not to mention easier) to keep a customer than it is to get a new one, why not put more emphasis on customer service and retention?
This month I have had the opportunity to experience both the best and the worst in customer service. I’ve had some telecommunications challenges that involved dealing with two different companies to discuss problems. One gets a rotten tomato, and the other gets nothing but kudos and recommendations from me.
In order to end on a high note, I’ll share the example of poor customer service first.
I lost my cellular phone and called AT&T Wireless to have them put a stop on it so nobody could use it. At the time they did not explain to me that when people called my number they could no longer leave voice mail and would get a recording saying my service was disconnected. That would have been nice to know. At the time I also asked what my options were if I needed to get a new phone. After six years of service without a phone upgrade, I figured they could do something for me. Let’s just say their proposal was less than attractive. The rep told me I had 38 days left on my contract, so I decided to explore other service options.
I decided to port my number to Sprint during my last 30 days with AT&T Wireless, figuring I would just be obligated to pay for my last month of service. I called to restart my service so they could port my number to Sprint and was put into an endless voicemail loop that addressed me as a delinquent account, which required payment of a fee to start my service. It took me 3 days and many phone calls to reach a human who explained that when you shut your service off for any reason, AT&T Wireless automatically places you in the delinquent accounts. He said I didn’t really have to pay the fee. I said they might want to look at that policy because it was very frustrating on my end. He said, “Whatever.”
When they found out I was porting my number away, the offers came out. Very good ones. This has been my experience in every interaction with their customer service. They can’t do anything for me until I threaten to leave. I am tired of this game. At this point I had made my decision to go with a new service provider, and I wasn’t going to change my mind.
As if that wasn’t annoying enough, when I went to pay my final bill they hit me with an early termination fee. I told them I was happy to pay for my last month of service, but that I didn’t feel it was right to pay an extra fee. We’re still working on it. Needless to say, I would not recommend them or return as a customer. When I look at what I’ve paid in the past six years, and what I will pay in the future for cellular service it seems like a very poor business decision on their part.
On the flip side, I purchased a headset from Plantronics 14 years ago. It has gotten a lot of use. A few years ago, I had some problems with it and they rebuilt it for a nominal fee. It has worked perfectly up until a few days ago.
I called Plantronics to see about ordering a new one, figuring it was getting pretty old and I’d gotten great use out of it. The rep said, “Let’s make sure that’s what you need first.” He asked me a series of questions and suggested I try a couple of things. I asked him what I needed to do to order a new one if that didn’t work and he gave me a link for replacements that would have me paying roughly one-third of the new price. Not something I expected after 14 years. As it turned out, the quick fix worked. It cost me nothing, and I was back in business in about 5 minutes.
They have a customer for life. I know they are not the least expensive up front, but I believe the reliability of the product and superior customer service have saved me time and money over the years. Whenever someone asks me what kind of headset I recommend, I say, “Plantronics.”
The interesting thing to me about these two examples is that Plantronics has made far less money from me than AT&T Wireless. I’m a very small customer for them. But, I always feel just as important as a large volume customer when I speak with customer service. I hope that over time they’ve made money from my referrals.
And isn’t that how we all want our customers to feel about us? Whether they do a large volume of business or an occasional small purchase, the ideal is that they feel important and well served with every interaction. If we are willing and able to do that, we build a great reputation that fosters word of mouth marketing in the best possible way. It’s a win for everyone: the customer who is well served, the business that grows, and the additional customers who have the opportunity to be served as a result.
So, I urge you to expand your thinking around marketing. It is important to have a proactive marketing plan, but it is also important to be ‘marketing’ in the form of superior customer service with every interaction. Your business depends on it.
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