Last month, my customer service manager gave a talk to our entire team entitled, “The Value of our Customers.” It was amazing! In fact, I liked it so much that I let him know on the spot I was going to steal the idea and write an article on it.
Let me set the scene for you. Our customer service manager proceeded to the front of our training room to begin his talk carrying a very thick wooden cutting board and a cloth draped over the top, concealing whatever lay underneath. He sat the cutting board down and removed the cloth to reveal a rubber chicken and a large meat cleaver. Without saying a word, he situated the rubber chicken with one hand and used his other hand to grab the cleaver. He raised the cleaver high in the air and dropped it down with a loud thud, neatly cutting the head off the chicken. Needless to say, this got everyone’s undivided attention.
The customer service manager told his audience, “This chicken can feed us once — that’s short-term nourishment — or it can feed us for generations.” He went on to compare the value of a chicken long-term to the value of a customer long-term. Here are some really good points on how we should view the long-term value of our customers.
The value of a well-cared-for chicken can be equated to the following:
• In its lifetime, one chicken will lay enough eggs to feed a family of four breakfast for more than six months.
• The chicken will supply enough eggs to bake enough 2-ft cakes to line the length of a football field.
• The chicken will produce an additional 10 chickens that will do the very same thing for you.
• The cycle never ends as long as you take care of your chickens.
Here are some numbers to consider if you regard your customers as “short-term nourishment”*:
• 48% of people who have a negative experience tell 10+ people about it.
• For every complaint, there are 26 more customers who stay quiet and say nothing.
• It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.
• 82% of customers who switched companies said the company could have done something to keep them from leaving.
• 53% of customers will leave if they feel unappreciated.
• 88% of consumers are influenced by online reviews before choosing a company.
• It costs six to seven times more to acquire a new customer then it does to retain one.
If you take care of your customers, this is what you can expect in return:
• 58% are willing to spend more on companies that provide excellent customer service.
• 52% of consumers have made more purchases from a company after having a good customer service experience.
• A loyal customer is worth up to 10 times as much as his or her first purchase.
• 80% of your company’s future revenue will come from just 20% of your existing customers.
Your customers are not unlike these chickens. Do you see them for their short-term worth or do you see them for their long-term value?
*These statistics were found at http://www.insightsquared.com/2015/04/100-customer-service-statistics-you-need-to-know/.
© 2016 Clockwork IP, LLC
Hagan is a second-generation electrician. He owns and operates the Mister Sparky locations serving Northwest Arkansas, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa, Okla. He oversees a staff of 30, which includes electricians and technicians. He can be reached at [email protected].
