Monthly Archive for December, 2008

The Power of Word-of-Mouth

Published
by
Nick Ezzo
on December 22, 2008
in caller experience
. 0 Comments

NickI just read an interesting article by John I. Todor, Ph.D., on the blog The Perfect Customer Experience.

The entry places some tangible, scientific figures behind what we all intuitively know to be true: whether you provide good or bad customer service, your customers are going to talk about it. Here are a few interesting nuggets:

70% of word of mouth occurs “face-to-face” and only 8% occurs online.

Overwhelmingly, consumers have positive things to say about brands by a margin of more than 6 to 1. This contradicts the common notion people spread negative experiences more than positive.

78% of consumers rank word of mouth as credible at a level of 7 or higher on a 10 point scale.

Why is word-of-mouth marketing powerful?

We trust word of mouth because the person telling us puts the experience in a context that is meaningful to us. Since the peer-to-peer relationship is based on trust, the message is credible. So remember, the next time you’re stuck waiting on hold, or transferred around, or told to call back because the system is down: The Power of Word-of-Mouth.

Knee-Jerk Customer Service

Published
by
Nick Ezzo
on December 22, 2008
in caller experience
. 1 Comment

Nick

A few years ago, I broke up with my wireless carrier.

We had five fantastic years together. Oh, the minutes we used spend, just talking! But like all good things, it had to end sometime.

Due to an extensive travel schedule, I had exceeded my plan minutes two months in a row, and my normal $59.99 plan suddenly became a $280 plan. Ouch.

So I paid my bill and promptly switched carriers. And with my new wireless provider, I got more minutes for about the same price.

Do you think my wireless provider even cared that I broke up the relationship? How about… Nope.

No call. No card. Nothing.

Here’s my point: if my provider had proactively reached out to me before I walked out, I would have stayed. Imagine:

Good morning, Mr. Ezzo, this is ____ wireless calling. I notice you have exceeded your plan minutes for the last two months, and I’d like to upgrade your account to a plan that better fits you.

The call never came.

But, let me go even further with this delusional fantasy:

And, if you sign up for a two-year contract, I can wipe out those excess charges for the last few months. Heck, I’ll even send you a Bluetooth headset free.

Hallelujah! Where do I sign?

The sad part is that my provider missed an excellent opportunity to lock me in for another two years.

Wireless providers don’t seem to care about retaining their customers, and I can’t figure out why.

Are their systems and business processes just too knotted up to deliver proactive customer service? Or, do they just take their customers for granted?

Either way, it’s a problem that can be fixed, and I would like to see someone do it.

Dear ____ wireless,

Let’s get back together.

I’m waiting for your call.