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EDITORIAL
Hold'em Tight
"I'd had it with that customer. And after today, I made sure he'll never come back."
"I blew that guy off on the phone. No way he's ever gonna bother us again."
To some in sales, there's always another willing buyerjust around the corner or one phone ring away. Amazingly, even some in management share their cavalier attitude toward the need to cherish each and every customer.
As important as each customer is, every one that is lost is merely the tip of the iceberg. Research organizations which study the revenge of dissatisfied customers on the offending companies have discovered some startling findings.
On average, buyers who feel wronged will tell between eight and 16 people. A tenth of them will tell more than 20 people about their bad experience. Of those with negative experiences, 95% will never buy from the establishment again.
Statistics indicate only one in 26 will complain to management about bad service. The vast, unhappy majority will simply bad mouth the com- pany and its people. ln other words, when your customer departs, you will likely never get a second chance to repair the situation. Chancas are, you'll never know why further orders weren't forthcoming.
The other side of tbe coin p,resens a far happier face. Satisfied customers are said ro tell at least five other people about their positive experiencas. That kind of genuine, unsolicited refe,rence is the strong foundation upon which great company r€p utations are built.
Anyone who understands sales can tell yor that it is a tough, demanding and unforgiving part of business. No company can always Fovide perfect sales and service. I:t's face iL customers can be unreasonable, dishonest, unpleasant and at least a half dozen other unattractive anribute.s.
Yet the need to retain every cuslomer should be paramounl Research shows that it costs five times more to attract a new customer thrn it does to kcep an existing one. The mission is cleac whatever it takes, love 'em or not, ke€p tb€ custom€r.
