When Your ‘Nice’ Customer Fires You By Spending Elsewhere

• A customer who has had 1-2 bad experiences will tell up to 20 people
• A satisfied customer may tell 5 other people
• It costs 5 times more to attain a new customer than to keep one you already have
• Just 4% of your customers will bring a complaint to your attention, so for every complaint you hear about, there are probably dozens you haven’t heard about. 

My marketing support manager has been reading over older sales and marketing materials. I have to say, though she keeps abreast, she is not always agreeable with advancing sales and marketing technology.  She insists that, even with all the available current tools, nothing has truly changed in how sales, marketing, customer service, indeed, the entire company attains and keeps customers. 

Yes, she agrees, the tools can help, but without the major understanding of what constitutes a customer and their needs, why bother with the technology?  To her, understanding the customer is what sales, marketing, customer service; in fact, the whole company should be about. 

In her opinion, without customers and their loyalty, there would be no companies, no products, no CEOs, CFOs, COOs, VP Marketing, VP Sales, no newsletters, no blogs, no new products, no podcasts, no social networking, no webinars, no whatever they come up next with.  Without customers, there is nothing – companies simply don’t exist. 

In keeping with that, I’d like to introduce a short article, actually something she took from another source, and printed years ago in a company newsletter. 

The ‘Nice’ Customer Who Never Complains — and Never Comes Back!

You know me.  I’m a nice person.  When I get lousy service, I never complain.  I never kick.  I never criticize and I wouldn’t dream of making a scene. 

I’m one of those nice customers.  And I’ll tell you what else I am.  I’m the customer who doesn’t come back.

I take whatever you hand out, because I know I’m not coming back.  I could tell you off and feel better, but, in the long run, it’s better just to leave quietly. 
 
You see, a nice customer like me, multiplied by others like me, can bring a business to its knees.

There are plenty of us.  When we get pushed far enough, we go to one of your competitors.
Source-(Celin-o-gram, Celina Group, 1 Insurance Square, Celina, OH 45822 )      

How many “nice” customers do you have? 

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Comments

[Computer Consultants Kit]

Hi Bob,

You are SO right on the money.

In our industry, small business computer consulting, most companies (at least the smart ones) use surveys on a pretty regular basis to get a pulse for what customers REALLY think.

These surveys get a little more feedback from at least SOME of the nice customers that you describe who never complain, but don't come back.

By surveying customers, it also sends a strong message that your company is at least willing to listen.

Of course, when a customer is on an ongoing annual/monthly support agreement, you'll know whether they're happy or not, based on whether they continue/renew/etc.

Obviously, it's in everyone's best interest to find out if customers/clients are dissatisfied while you still have a chance to save those valued, hard-earned relationships.

Thanks for the great post.

Joshua Feinberg