Customer Engagement ' Myths Exploded By The White House

Publishing a report on Customer Engagement, it appears to be an odd coincidence that

the White House Office of Consumer Affairs should choose now to publish some statistics about how customer complaints spread.

President Obama has struggled to deliver against some of the promises he made during his election campaign, most notably his plans to reform health services in the USA. As a result, the breathless enthusiasm with which his election was greeted has somewhat cooled. The news reports show that the President has been under critical fire, and not only from his political foes. Is his 'Customer Engagement' slipping from the election high point?

The White House Office of Consumer Affairs has added its influential voice to those warning that, in the age of the mobile phone and social networks, anyone who experiences poor service or a broken promise from any organisation can make their complaints known to an ever-increasing audience. What's more, those potential or actual customers who hear the bad news will take it seriously - and act on it.

Cutting to the chase, it's clear that any company's corporate messages of reassurance about how well they deliver on service and quality are a total waste of money and time if the customers are loudly saying 'Oh no you don't....'

Here are some of the myths the White House is keen to explode.

'My company is OK, we get hardly any customer complaints.'

Don't believe it. The White House says that for every disappointed customer who complains, a further 26 suffer in silence. Those are the American figures; what's the truth in the UK where we have a history of reluctance to complain.

'The disappointed customers are a minority, we can live with that.'

No you can't. The average disappointed customer will share their irritation with 8 to 16 other people.

'Give it time. They'll get over it.'

No they won't. 91 percent of disappointed customers will never buy from you again.

'For every customer we lose, we can get a new one.'

But at what cost? It costs at least five times as much to find a new customer as to keep an old one.

'We spend a fortune on advertising and promotions. Are you telling me that money is wasted?'

Spot on. Each one of your customers has a circle of 250 people who will hear good or bad news about your company. Cut your promotions budget and spend more on customer engagement. There are now well-established methodologies to assess and strengthen your engagement with your customers. Use them.

In reality we know that the White House is talking about business' customers, not unhappy voters. None of these warning messages apply to elected politicians - or your business.

Or do they?

by: Tony Lord

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