Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Cause marketing costs less than good customer service.


A few years back, someone noted the proliferation of similar products and predicted that as the differences between various alternative options shrunk, companies would be forced to compete by providing superior customer service.  Sadly they couldn't have been more wrong.

These days complaint letters go unanswered - unless they are public tweets, customer service reps give conflicting information, and companies don't care about losing customers until they have already gone.  Apparently aided by software they can now predict your "breakpoint" and are determined to push you right to it. (Terlep, 2019)

How foolish can you be?  Any company seeking a long term relationship with their customers should consider the fact that pissing people off is not a good strategy. 

So which is worse -  endless stupid prompts, or reps from foreign countries who barely speak English?  Hard to say.  But both are better than simply being expected to interact with a poorly designed website.  Especially when the companies don't bother to test them to see if they actually function correctly.

But companies have decided that they don't need to worry about customer service because they can get more customers by aligning with customer values.  And they are probably right.

According to Nike, "Two-thirds of their consumers (66 percent) say it's important for brands to take public stands on social and political issues." (Stillman, 2018)

Wow.  That's impressive.  And clearly acting upon that data and partnering with Colin Kaepernick is a winning move for the company as revenue was up +4% (+10% versus year ago) in the last quarter.

But would it work for Verizon Fios?  According to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, subscription television services, internet service providers, VOD, fixed-line telephone services and Internet social media are the five worst industries for customer service (Terlep, 2019)

But that may not matter, because all decisions are emotional. So if they could align themselves with a cause their customers care about they might be successful.   

But if I were them, I'd worry more about customer service.  When an interaction leaves you feeling ripped off, it's unlikely that you'll continue to be a customer for much longer, and with cord cutting accelerating, replacement customers could be difficult to find. 

On the other hand I will give a free shout out to two companies that I deal with that have made superior customer service part of their DNA - B&H and Bloomingdales.  Kudos to you both.  It's one of the reasons that I have been a loyal customer for over 40 years.

Such a shame the list is so short.  Perhaps we should start outing the companies who don't do right by their customers on social media.  As I noted in this blog, people do pay attention to online reviews.



Terlep, S. (2019, August 3)  Everybody Hates Customer Service. This Is Why. wsj.com.  Retrieved August 7, 2019, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/everyone-hates-customer-service-this-is-why-11564804882

Stillman, J. (2018, September 5)  Here's the Data That Proves Nike's Colin Kaepernick Ad Is Seriously Smart Marketing.  inc.com.  Retrieved August 6, 2019, from

Thomas, L. (2019, June 27)  Nike misses on earnings, but beats on revenues as customers buy more sneakers and sports gear.  cnbc.com.  Retrieved August 6, 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/27/nike-reports-fiscal-4q-2019-earnings.html

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