Why saying ‘sorry’ results in more customers

Its funny, but we are amazed at how many Brands complain about poor customer retention or negative reviews online but when you look into things further, they haven’t actually resolved the issue in question or made any attempts to listen to the customer and make appropriate changes to avoid similar instances happening again.

In a recent survey we conducted of 800 shoppers, out of stock products and pushy/rude staff were the most annoying factors when it came to their shopping experience, and for many, price was not even a major factor. What is clear is that no matter how good an experience a brand provides, customer complaints will always exist. The way a complaint is resolved is critical to the reputation of your brand. Successful Brands proactively demonstrate a genuine desire to resolve the problem and explain the steps they take to resolve the customer’s problems.

We often recommend that Brands implement a Severity Index to deal with the most pressing issues first. This enables them to see where the really major issues lie in the customer experience and thus where to focus their efforts and attention first as often, customer complaint analysis involves so many factors, most businesses don’t know which problem to tackle first.
 
Customers want to feel that they have been listened to and recognised – it isn’t just about money – in our experience customers with a genuine problem will be happy to accept a lower value of compensation if they feel they have been listened to. Demonstrate that you are listening. Show that you understand. Ask the customer how they would like the matter to be resolved. If you can show that you have listened and made it clear that you have taken action then you have the opportunity to generate advocacy - if you go “over and above” the customer’s expectation then customers will advocate your brand more than they would have before they had the problem.

Sleeping out for Crisis

 This Saturday I will be one of a number of people who will be sleeping rough to raise money and awareness for Crisis – the national homeless charity.

If you are homeless or living in hostel accommodation, Christmas can be a lonely and depressing time. For the past 38 years, Crisis Christmas has alleviated that loneliness. It provides Christmas Centres across London from 23 – 30 December that offer vital companionship, hot meals and warmth, and a wide range of essential services that homeless people often miss out on.

Did you know that...
•    Last year 3500 people slept rough in London.
•    The life expectancy of a rough sleeper is just 42
•    Homeless people are 13 times more likely to be a victim of violence
•    More than 12,000 people have been housed through Crisis since 1997

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Please visit please visit http://www.justgiving.com/sleepout4crisis to sponsor me.  You can also visit http://www.crisis.org.uk to find out more about Crisis.
 

Are Marketing Directors scared of the truth?

Marketing Directors who want to understand their customers better should simply spend more time in store, so why don’t they?

We often hear many Marketing Directors say “I’d like to do store visits but I haven’t got time”, “I know all I need to know about my customers from my market research”. But that Management Information is at best going to be several months old and in a rapidly changing and evolving economy, that data is likely to be outdated already. In reality, I believe that Senior Marketers are scared of what they might hear if they did go in store.
 
Whilst monitoring customer sentiment online is a necessity and a more current way to keep track of brand sentiment, nothing can beat actually speaking to customers and employees directly and finding out what they really think. In reality, Marketing Directors should spend a minimum of 2 days a month; out in stores and that all members of marketing teams should spend at least 10 days a year in store, but that very rarely happens.
 
Store visits are not just about talking to your customers, (although this is vital) but also getting feedback from store teams and observing customers. Do they read your point of sale? What types of customer are coming to you? Who leaves with nothing? Who only cherry picks promotional items? Where else do your customers shop? How easy is it to shop the whole store? What could you work with Operations on to optimise the customer’s experience? What products and brands do your customers want that you’re not stocking? Is a lack of product availability frustrating your customers and sending them elsewhere? It is these questions which are often not fully answered through traditional Management Information processes and is why having a presence in store is so vital.

Consumers show web is King

 With Christmas just around the corner, we are urging retail brands in particular to take stock of the changes happening in the sector and adapt their strategies to take account of the multiple influences that are now affecting consumer purchase decisions, in particular the use of the web as a place to gain insight prior to making a purchase.
 
In one of our recent whitepapers, we revealed that traditional consumer insight methodologies are no longer sufficient in understanding buyer behavior and brand owners need to have a significantly deeper level of understanding of what motivates and influences consumer attitudes. A customer that has a good experience will typically tell 3 to 5 people, but a customer who has a poor experience will tell more than 20. When this is trend occurs via the web, these numbers can rapidly multiply and could spell disaster for brands that don’t have strategies in place to combat online negative chatter.  

A couple of months ago, we quizzed over 800 consumers about the influence of online reviews on their purchase decisions during August and September, and revealed that they relied heavily on online reviews for:
 
Consumer electronics                  56%
Home Furnishings                       33%
Apparel                                      21%
White Goods                              45%
DIY & Gardening                         18%
Entertainment Products              12%
Sports Goods                              9%
Food                                           2%

But this isn’t just about adopting trendy new social media strategies or having a fan group on Facebook. It is about directly interacting with your customers wherever they choose to have conversations about you. Customers expect and want to engage in two-way dialogue with the brands they use. The Internet should not just be viewed as a sales channel or an additional way to advertise your brand but as a method of communication.