Customer Service: Is It a Service of the Past?

What Does Inconsistent Customer Service Cost a Company in the Age of Social Media?

Day 3 – Part 6 - The Economics of a Two-Minute Interaction

Consider what a company spends to attract one customer.

Advertising.

Marketing.

Branding.

Social media.

Promotions.

Loyalty programs.

Mobile applications.

Store design.

Employee recruitment.

Training.

Technology.

Companies invest significant resources convincing people to walk through their doors.

Then a two-minute interaction can undermine all of it.

The greatest cost may not be replacing a cinnamon roll or refunding a purchase.

The cost may be losing the customer.

Then perhaps losing members of that customer's family.

Then friends.

Then people who read the review.

Then people who never visit because someone else's story influenced their perception before they ever had an experience of their own.

Not every negative review will have that effect, of course. But businesses cannot completely control which customer experiences gain attention.

That makes prevention considerably less expensive than reputation repair.

Leaders ask Yourself and provide your Thoughts as it pertains to your organization.

1. How much does your company spend attracting customers compared with what it invests in training employees to keep them?

2. What could a two-minute negative interaction ultimately cost your organization in lost customers, repeat business, referrals, employee time, and reputation?