all customer feedback is not created equal

7/29/2019 All Customer Feedback is NOT Created Equal

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35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) [email protected] |www.ccocouncil.org2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

All Customer Feedbackis NOT Created Equal:

A Guide for Dealingwith Disgruntled

Customers

by Curtis N. Bingham


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All Customer Feedback is NOT Created Equal: AGuide for Dealing with Disgruntled Customers

Curtis N. Bingham

Founder and Executive Director

Chief Customer Officer Council

CurtisBinghamistherecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethisroleasacatalyst

forcompetitiveadvantage.HeisthecreatoroftheCCORoadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+critical

strategiesessentialforcustomercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisispassionate

aboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,andloyalty.

Customer feedback isa gift-especiallyfromdisgruntledcustomers,becausetheyrepresentcustomers

thatcareenoughtotellyouwhatthey reallythinkratherthanbeingfrustratinglyneutralinallofyour

surveys.

So,howdoyoutakeadvantageofit?

ThefirstquestionyoushouldaskiswhetherornotyouSHOULDtakeadvantageofit.Notallcustomer

feedbackiscreatedequal.Oh,no.Someofyourworstcustomersarepricebuyersandnegotiateaway

allyourprofits,aremassivecreditrisks,wastecallcenterresources,andabuseyourcustomerservice

reps. Itmight simply cost too much to satisfy them. Cable TV companies found that even satisfied

customers would switch for a 2% discount whereas big savings wouldnt placate some disgruntled

customers.Toomanycompaniesplaceequalemphasisonallcustomer feedbackandtypicallyendupsee-sawingbackandforthastheymakeachangetosatisfyonevocalsetofcustomersthatdissatisfies

theirbestcustomers.

ToprotectyourbestcustomersANDyourprofits,youmustdothreethings:

1. Prioritizecustomersaccordingvalue2. Tiertheserviceoffering3. Addressdisgruntledcustomersaccordingtotheirpriorityandservicetier

Prioritize Customers According To Value

Most everybody will agree that some customers are more valuable to your company than others.Guidedbyyouroverallcustomerstrategy,useyourCRMsystemtoprioritizeyourcustomersaccording

totheirvaluetoyou.Metricsmight includeprofitability,shareofwallet, lifetimevalue,costto serve,

strategicimpact,orothermetrics.Onceyoudoso,itllbeclearatbothextremeswhichcustomersyou

needtokeepatallcostsvs.thosethatyoumightjustbebetteroffiftheytooktheirmarblesandwent

home.


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Tier the Service Offering

Some customers will buy on price alone and purchase the cheapest products possible. World-class

companieswill tier their productofferings to address the low-price segmentaswellas a high-value

segment.

Serviceofferingsmust be tieredaswell. If a customerisntwillingtopay foradditional service, it is

criticalthattheadditionalservicenotbeofferedordelivered!

Thisisincrediblyhardforcustomerserviceprofessionalswhopridethemselvesinprovidingtop-quality

service.Oneverylargefinancialservicesproviderattemptedtochargeapremiumforpremiumservice,

butendedupgivingawaymillionsofdollarsinpremiumservicetoeveryoneastheirpenny-pinching

customersfoundoutthattheservicelevelswerenotactuallydifferentiated.Theirbestcustomerswere

incensedandbegancancellingservicecontracts,causingfurtherrevenueerosion.

Address Disgruntled Customers According To Their Priority And Service Tier

Ifthedisgruntledcustomerisalowpriorityandhaspaidforalower-tierserviceplan,afterofferingto

upgradetheirserviceplandirectthemtolesserexpensiveself-serviceoronlinechannels.Thegoalisto

dojustenoughtopreventatarnishedoverallreputation.Ifhowever,thecustomerishighnetworth

(ie. high-priority and ona high-service plan), you thenmust do everything you can in a high-touch

fashion to resolve the customers complaint and ensure their perception of and loyalty to you is

restored.

Herearefivestepstodoso:

1. Understandthecustomerscomplaint2. Determinehowthecustomerwouldwantitresolvedinanidealworld3. Developandcommunicateanactionplan4. Deliverontheactionplan5. Communicatetheresultsoftheactionplan

Ifyoudontdeliverontheplanafterraisingcustomerhopes,youruinyourfuturechancesofgettingthis

customertocollaboratewithyounottodestroyingloyaltyandremovingbarrierstodefection.

Onestepthatmanycompaniesleaveoutisthatofcommunicatingthefix/resolutiontothecustomer.

Even though you may havemet or exceeded customer expectations, if you dont communicate the

resolutionaspromptly aspossible, youmight aswell have outright ignored the customer from the

outset.

Customer feedback (even the negative kind) is a giftif it comes from valuable customersand it

shouldbewelcomedandaddressedimmediatelytoprotectyourreputation,customertrust,andyour

revenue.Feedbackfromtherestofyourcustomersmightbeinteresting,butquitepossiblyirrelevant.


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About CURTIS N. BINGHAM

AsExecutiveDirectoroftheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncil,CurtisBinghamis

therecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethis

role as a catalyst for competitive advantage. He is the creator of the CCO

Roadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+criticalstrategiesessentialfor

customercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisis

passionateaboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,

andloyalty.

About THE CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCIL

TheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncilis thefirstof itskind;amember-led peer-advisory network offering unparalleled insight into the

critical issues facing CCOs. It was created to provide a safe

environmentwhere CCOs canshare ideas, concerns, andbuild best

practices that wellhelp them, their companies, andespecially their

customers succeed. The Council includes CCOs from diverse

industries, purposefully cross-pollinated with the most forward-

thinking companies, large and small. For more information, visit

www.ccocouncil.org,[email protected].

FormoreresourcesfromCurtisBinghamandtheCCOCouncil,includingarticles,videos,and The

BinghamAdvisory,visitwww.ccocouncil.org.

Copyright Notice

Allcontentcontainedinthisarticleiscopyrightprotectedmaterial.Reproduction,inwholeorinpart,inanyformormedium,withoutthe

expresswrittenpermissionoftheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncilisstrictlyprohibited.Contactea@ccocouncil.orgforreprints.

CutAnythingBUTMarketingInthisarticlebyCurtisN.Bingham,youlllearnhowacross-the-boardbudget

cutsduringtimesofrecessioncanbedetrimenaltoyourbottomlineandwhythecounterintuitivedecision

toincreasemarketingspendpaysbothshortandlongtermdividends.

Downloadyourfreecopytodayatwww.ccocouncil.org/exclusiveresources/

all customer feedback is not created equal

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