Service Driven Loyalty

A combination of marketplace and recession driven dynamics have converged to create a very different world in terms of what it takes to maintain and gain brand loyalty. Customers now easily find information about competitive products, so switching is easy and the barriers to switching have been reduced. For evidence, refer to the recent success of low pricing strategies and the emergence of private label. But there is another factor even more important than price in the battle for consumers’ hearts and minds. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review suggests that customer service and the overall customer experience is the most important factor in building and maintaining strong brands.

In the article, “What Service Customers Really Want,” authors Dave Dougherty and Ajay Murthy build a compelling case for placing the customer experience at the top of your list of concerns.

According to the authors’ research, when customers are seeking service, they want knowledgeable employees and immediate problem resolution. But when it comes to metrics, most companies follow outdated practices like tracking time spent on hold and minutes per call. Techniques that encourage rushed calls and solutions that further inconvenience the consumer.

The impact of a bad customer experience is dramatic and immediate. Dougherty and Murthy say that 40% of those who have a bad experience stop doing business with the company. The remedy is an integrated approach taking information from a variety of customer/employee touch points such as satisfaction surveys, behavioral data and recorded conversations. Using this information, companies can revise processes to provide front-line employees the latitude to provide a satisfying experience upon first contact. This data, gathered from all channels, can then be applied upstream to the root problem, be it manufacturing, distribution, packaging, etc.

The new consumer reality is that customers will no longer tolerate dissatisfaction in exchange for long-held loyalty to a brand. They will simply and without warning go elsewhere. Compared to this harsh result, a little service goes a long way..