Small Town Service In Big Corporations: The Secret to Lasting Customer Loyalty
In most industries one may think that getting new customers is the most important goal. There will always be a drive to expand a company’s presence and customer base. What doesn’t get as much drive and focus is keeping the existing customers by giving them great one on one service and personalized accommodations. Why is it the newest person will get the best discounted rates if they sign up as a new customer, while the customer who has been with that company for 20 years is met with zero promotions and treated like a number when they call in for support or billing questions. Most companies will wait until the customer says they want to cancel the service before they offer any kind of better package or value, and many companies don’t even do that.
This idea of treating each customer as valuable, heard and uniquely served should be the bedrock of the company. Without these customers the company doesn’t exist. Many small businesses start out with this as their mantra yet as the company grows and dollar signs start pouring in along with expenses, it is easy to let this be replaced with company policies that are mass applied across every situation.
One prevalent industry in this category is companies that offer standard warranty coverage and extended insurance on devices. This could be the manufacture selling the product or the 3rd party company selling additional insurance coverage on it. In many cases people are swayed to make the purchase because of the peace of mind that comes with it in the form of a warranty. They are happy with their device and everything is great, until 12 months and 1 week later the device starts to act up.
In many cases this 1 week past is enough to stop many companies from taking action because they legally don’t have to. It is stated that the warranty is for 12 months and not a day over. It is easy for the customer service rep to state company policy and say there is nothing they can do. Even if the customer asks for a manager, they are met with the same cut and dry answer. Yes, the company saves money because they don’t have to repair or replace the device, but they are losing a repeat customer. People naturally create and feel loyalty to the products, devices, and brands they buy. This loyalty however is quickly shattered when the company quotes “policy” over doing what’s right and serving their customer through the “grey areas” of life.
It is amazing that by not bending a little now to work with your customers and their “grey area” situations, ensures the loss of that customers loyalty. Your competition thanks you for their new customer. This doesn’t suggest that we always take the loss just to keep a client happy. The grey area we are talking about here is the human factor.
A customer may not love the end result while still knowing you are meeting them halfway. If a device is rebroken after you repaired it 3 weeks ago, giving that customer a bit of a discount to help off-set the added expense to them is a nice gesture. It is not your companies fault they rebroke their device, but it shows the customer that you empathize and are trying to ease the unfortunate situation a bit.
When the warranty coverage ended 2 months ago but the device is clearly glitching and defective, working with them on a win-win solution is the right thing to do. Most customers are reasonable and know that there is no obligation on the companies part to go above and beyond. But they hope that their situation and the fact that they have been a solid customer, will have more sway over ensuring profit by following company policy to the T. Even if you have to tell the customer that you can’t do exactly what they are wanting, trying to meet them in the middle and show that you care about their experience and satisfaction goes a long way.
This act alone is why so many customers will skip the hoop jumping, confusing, frustrating process of using a warranty/insurance claim and just pay a local shop to repair it at full cost. The ability to look someone in the eye while you talk about your situation, to be able to feel the small business appreciation and added value goes a long way. The company that earned the money upfront for the product they sold or the warranty service they sold will no longer be getting repeat business from that customer again.
There are a few companies in our life that chose strict policies and profit over valuing us as unique customers. A phone service company that raised the price of our 2 phone lines after we tried to save money by taking off the third line; we cancelled our 20 years of service with them. A credit card company that denied our card purchase because it was to buy something on their “not allowed” list; we cancelled our 10-year account with them. These companies chose policy and profit over their customer and because of that they lost a long-term loyal customer.
The other side of this coin is the dental company that gave us a free service because we couldn’t afford the remaining work needing done. The phone service company that took our already cheap monthly phone bill and surprised us by lowering the cost while upgrading the services because they “appreciate our business”. These companies went above and beyond and now have a loyal customer. Even if we were to get a better deal elsewhere, we would not switch companies because we feel appreciated and valued with them.
A company may be profitable when creating and following policies that are black and white. But the grey area is where customer appreciation and loyalty is formed. An honest and generous company may attract customers that take, but they will also attract many more customers that give value back tenfold.