Stop listening to your customers at your peril.
I want to tell you two quick stories in complete contrast, in contradiction of each other.
I had a bad customer experience yesterday from somebody that I spend money with. They are a service provider. I won’t go into too much detail because I wouldn’t want to compromise anybody. But it’s fair to say that the level of service that I experienced yesterday and the lack of apology, lack of a desire to resolve the problem or even acknowledge that they’ve created a problem, really left a bitter taste in my mouth.
It’s not only going to result in me voting with my feet and spending my money elsewhere, but a lot of other people around me that are witnessing the same level of apathy, dis-interest and just general lack of customer care and consideration are going to do the same.
I just I don’t get it, in an environment where consumers have got so much choice, I just don’t get why you would not care about your customers or stop listening to customers who have repeatedly given feedback.
Acting on feedback
A year ago, a customer of mine sent a net promoter score out to his customers ahead of a conference and his net promoter score was sub 30%. He was pragmatic about it. He understood the result he got, and we put a very clear action plan in place for him to significantly improve his net promoter score over that next 12 months.
Yesterday, this same customer shared with me the results and his net promoter score now in excess of 65%. Having more than doubled, it’s a fantastic result. It’s a fantastic achievement in just a year, and certainly more than we had planned and hoped for.
A year ago when he got that feedback, he listened to each and every problem, which is the main reason for the increase. He communicated with each of those customers and he regularly communicates to them about what he’s doing to resolve each of their issues. This has resulted in a significant improvement in that score this year.
His customers were listened to, and not only has he retained that business, he has also increased that business and received better loyalty from those customers because he’s acted.
So, stop listening to customers at your peril. If you start listening, start acting. You’re going to retain your business and increase your business with those customers.
Related resources
- Why you need to value your experience
- Is it time for a client cull?
- Don’t wait for it to happen, make it happen
Are you missing opportunities to connect and impact your customers? In today’s competitive markets, customers need to be wowed, they need to be actively involved from the word ‘go’.
If you want to provide the best customer experience for both new and existing customers, access our tool here to get started: tendo-uk.com/touchpoint
