A 40% loyalty bump

Who wouldn’t want a customer loyalty bump of 40%? What magical marketing promotion would deliver a result like that? The quick answer is, there isn’t one, because if you are looking to marketing to deliver customer loyalty you are probably looking in the wrong place. The area that can deliver that amazing result is usually tucked away in a corner – it’s called customer service.

Yes, that is right. Just solving your customer complaints can deliver an increase in their loyalty to your company of up to 40%. So why don’t more companies go out of their way to take this step?

There is a pretty famous joke about this – I’d forgotten it until I was reading a draft of a friend’s soon to be released book on customer service. It goes something like this:

A guy dies and finds himself at the pearly gates. The guard at the gates is holding a clipboard checking off customers as they arrive. The guard looks up and smiles as he sees the new gentleman in line. He says, “You are so lucky that you died today! There’s a special we’re offering today only!” “Really?” He says. “Yeah, you get to choose whether you want to go to Heaven or Hell.”

They guy says, “Well, how will I know?” The guard quickly responds, “Not to worry! We let you go stay a day in each one so you can make an informed decision about where you want to spend all eternity.”

The guy says, “Okay. I think I’d like to go to hell first.” The guard smiles and motions him into the elevator right behind him. “Great! Down you go!” The doors open up onto a white sandy beach. People are playing in the surf, drinking drinks with little umbrellas, dancing to a calypso band. It’s absolutely… well, heaven!

He spends his day and comes back up in the elevator saying, “That was wonderful! I can’t wait to see what Heaven is like!” Up he goes in the elevator again. The doors open on white fluffy clouds, harp music and lots of smiling, happy people. It’s very nice but not really very exciting. He comes back down in the elevator and says to the guard, “I can’t believe I am going to say this but… I’d like to go to Hell please.” The guard says no problem and down he goes in the elevator again.

The doors open but this time instead of his beach and calypso music he’s greeted by people running, screaming, fire, brimstone. He’s standing there… dumbfounded. The devil comes up to him and barks, “What’s your problem? Get in here!” And the guy responds, stuttering, “There must be some mistake! I was here yesterday! There was a beach, drinks with little umbrellas! What happened?!”

The devil responds, “We get this all the time. Yesterday you were a prospect. Today you’re a customer!”

So does that ring a bell? Forget your own company for a minute – how about when you are on the other side of the transaction – when you are the customer? The mountain of customer complaint stories about some of our biggest companies suggests that it is a feeling we have all had at one time or another.

How much time, energy and money do you spend on your existing customers? If it isn’t at least somewhat proportional to the amount you spend to get them in the first place then the chances that you can build a strong brand are next to none.

Now I know customer complaints can be a nightmare. There are plenty of “customerzillas” out there who you can never make happy no matter how hard you try. Those aren’t the people I am talking about.

I am talking about the quiet customers, who with all good intentions to purchase your product or service. Only it isn’t what they expected, or it doesn’t work right. So they call to see if you can help them sort it out. They just want a fair resolution to their issue. If it doesn’t work they would probably like their money back, or for it to be fixed. If it isn’t what they expected, they would like to get what they did expect.

If they don’t get a fair resolution, chances are they will just quietly take their business elsewhere (maybe telling a few friends along the way about their bad experience).

What these customers and many, many people get instead of that fair resolution is any of the following. Defensiveness – it isn’t our fault. Run-around – I can’t help you but let me transfer you to someone who can (or usually who can’t). Delay – let me get back to you on that. Hostility – it is your fault. Just to name a few.

And by the time you have run the customer through any of the myriad of combinations of these things that make up what passes for modern customer service you have just burned more time and effort (and yes money) than just solving the problem would have cost.

Here is a suggestion for a phrase to drive your customer service process. Be gracious (suggested by my friend @cindysolomon). Sounds like a quaint 19th century idea, but just this simple act can make the world of difference.

When you are gracious blame has no part to play in the conversation. The tone is civil and even friendly. You are thankful that they are your customer and want to help if you can. Even the angriest customers will wilt a bit when confronted with a bit of understanding and a gracious attitude.

My friend’s book will be out soon and I will come back to this topic then, in the meantime if you want that 40% bump, it might be time to think about the resources you are allocating to keeping your current customers happy – well not just happy but as I like to call it “tell their friends” happy. Because that is what loyal customers do.

See you next week.

Michel Hogan is a Brand Advocate. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia and in the United States, she helps organisations recognize who they are and align that with what they do and say, to build more authentic and sustainable brands. She also publishes the Brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment.