Customer Retention Is Best Accomplished Over Time – Not As A Crisis Management Save
Consistently reinforce your customers' perception of value over time to keep them forever
I love to complete jigsaw puzzles! There is something relaxing yet challenging about them and the wonderful sense of satisfaction I get when a puzzle is completed never gets old. It’s funny how all the individual pieces at first look like they could be from any puzzle and yet, when connected to their neighboring pieces, each piece locks into a position that is the exact right one. Sometimes, a piece may look like it will fit, but when you try to put it there, it just doesn’t effortlessly click into place. You could try to force it, but experience has taught me that if the fit is not easy, then there is a likely chance it is the wrong spot. It still amazes me that when the puzzle is complete all the pieces will fit seamlessly together to create a finished image. 1
They really are amazing to me and someday I will need to learn more about how they are manufactured, because there is no question that a well-produced puzzle is much easier to work with than one made poorly.
No one piece creates the image, but together, interlocking, and supporting each other, the pieces provide the viewer with a lovely, completed image. There is a rough analogy in the puzzle to how your organization appears to an outsider. Customers don’t talk to your “organization” as a whole. They interact with a specific person in a specific section of your organization. One communication with sales. Another communication with customer service. A third with shipping and fulfillment. Each one is like a piece of the puzzle, but in the mind of the customer each of these communications creates a picture that becomes their overall impression of your company.
That impression becomes a perception that shapes their listening filters and belief for later interactions. If the perception is one of trust, then future interactions start out at that point and errors will be thought of as an anomaly, and will likely have little impact on their overall perception (we all want consistency). But if the perception is one of distrust from previously unfulfilled promises, miscommunications, and tension, then any little mistake can take on enormous proportions when they happen. This is one reason why a seemingly harmless mistake explodes into a major incident. 2
We all want customers who stay customers, which means we need to make sure that we do not give them a reason to leave. The problem is that no organization is perfect, and at some point, we are going to make a mistake. To insulate the customer relationship from a single event becoming terminal, it makes sense to build up a value perception over time before the mistake happens. This prior reinforcement of the value perception will become part of their norm and breaking that relationship would interrupt what they have come to accept as their status quo. Why would I sever my relationship with a vendor that consistently delivers as expected, and relieves me of the headaches associated with either finding another vendor, or doing their work myself?
Notice that this approach requires that you not only deliver on your promises (which is simply good business), but also that you consciously take the time to make sure that your customer knows it as well. Remember: Complete communication happens in the receiver’s mind.
Don’t assume that no complaints equates to complete satisfaction.
Value reinforcement is a process and not a one-shot deal. It takes constant attention and care, but it will pay off if and when something does go wrong.
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It is good to be back. What I thought was the flu turned out to be COVID. It has been a long two weeks all because I didn’t wear a mask at a Lou Gramm concert (I’m a huge Foreigner fan!) Great concert but wish I had only taken home memories. May I suggest wearing a mask if you have even a shred of doubt.
By the way, you can also use this as a diagnostic tool. If you have a customer who becomes angry over something that appears inconsequential to you, take a look at their past interactions to see where they may have been let down by your company in the past.