Monthly Archives: December 2013

December 4, 2013 · 9:03 am

No, I’m Not Making It Up

After Monday’s post on the collective genius of the folks at KlearGear.com, a reader reached out with a question.

research

(Photo credit: suttonhoo)

“I buy in to your thoughts on how customers ought to be treated, but is there research to support your statements about how doing business the right way (with a customer focus) actually translates into better business?”  Funny you should ask!

This from the Connected Customer blog from the folks at Liveperson:

Today’s savvy consumers want access to information and support instantly, and if they don’t find what they need quickly, they will look for it somewhere else. Our study tells us that, on average, consumers won’t wait more than 76 seconds if they need help during their online journey.  The research indicates that 49% of consumers continue to find websites difficult to navigate, with 33% struggling to seek help or locate customer service.

The folks at MediaPost’s Research Brief summed it up nicely:

Every interaction with a brand can either drive customer loyalty, or lead to abandonment to a competitor, says the report. The repercussions of a negative digital experience have never been higher, and the result of a positive experience is becoming increasingly more valuable. 84% of online users say brand trust is a result of a positive online experience. In addition, the vast majority say that a positive online experience makes it more likely for them to complete the purchase with the company and to buy from a company again

  • 78% of consumers agree that they are more likely to be loyal to companies that give them a great experience and service online

  • The result of a poor online interaction with a brand is abandonment of the transaction (45%), a negative perception of the company (45%), loss of trust (43%), and loss of a customer to an alternative website (41%)

So to answer the question, yes, treating customers as if they were family members or dear friends does have measurable positive effects.  We don’t need research, however, to tell us that suing our customers is a bad idea.  Almost as bad as having customer service people who can’t be reached by customers or who treat those customer complaints as annoyances rather than a problem a friend is having.

Does that make sense?

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December 3, 2013 · 11:21 am

Can’t Help Falling In Love

Let’s talk about a goal I think most businesses have in common for our TunesDay fun.  As part of my initial work with clients we generally spend a fair amount of time discussing their goals.  After all, stumbling around from crisis to crisis without a real plan is no way to run an operation.  Most of the time, a lot of the goals can be distilled down into one simple thought – make your customers and partners fall in love with you and your offerings.  We want to get them to the place where The King is:

Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can’t help falling in love with you
Shall I stay, would it be a sin?
If I can’t help falling in love with you

The song – I Can’t Help Falling In Love (With You) is as close to a rock and roll standard as there is.   It’s been recorded dozens of times since Elvis did it in 1962 and it’s been a hit several times since.  In fact, Elvis used it as his show-closer for many years.  Here is one of my favorite performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmakK7BSRnE

The performance from the live in Hawaii shows are better vocally, but Elvis is too distracted by the audience to put everything into it until the end.  But I digress.  Having someone fall in love with your business isn’t as easy as it sounds, just as it isn’t on an interpersonal level.  In both cases, you must take the relationship seriously and not be dismissive of it (oh, there are other customers).  You need to love them and be willing to make sacrifices.  You need to be focused as much on their needs as you are on your own – sometimes maybe even a little bit more.

We don’t take enough time to find out enough about our customers/partners – their goals, needs, and passions.  You can’t have a serious relationship and fall in love without that understanding.  We need to support them and actively look to help them solve their problems.  Hopefully they, in response, are singing the finale to the song:

Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can’t help falling in love with you

That’s the goal.  How do we make it happen?

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December 2, 2013 · 10:53 am

Klearly Stupid

The holiday shopping season has begun in earnest and so today let’s remind ourselves about how some online businesses deserve the equivalent of a Darwin Award for killing themselves as this big opportunity arises.

Stupid IV

(Photo credit: LauraLewis23)

You might have heard about KlearGear.com, a $47million online retailer of what they call geek toys and goodies.  They deserve the aforementioned Darwin Award for resolving a dispute with a customer in a manner that will, in my opinion, destroy their business.  Let’s see what you think.

A customer ordered something from the company way back in 2008 which didn’t arrive.  The customer then posted a negative review on the web.  Nothing very unusual about this so far, I know.  What happened next is.  Some genius at KlearGear decided it would be a good idea to “fine” the customer $3,500 for disparaging the company, citing a clause in their site’s Terms Of Service that wasn’t even in those terms in 2008.  When the customer didn’t pay, they reported the $3,500 as a bad debt to credit reporting agencies, trashing the customer’s credit rating.  You can read the gory details here.

Unfortunately for the retailer, the customer fought back and looks set to win a $75,000 judgement against the company.  Frankly, that’s the least of the retailer’s worries.  The torrent of negative commentary on social media has prompted the company to hide its Twitter account and to close off other social points of contact because of the overwhelming response.  Of course, by going into hiding the company has pretty much destroyed its own reputation on the web.  My guess is that the rest of the business will follow.

This began with a $20 item.  Instead of accepting that there was a problem – perhaps even one of the customer’s own making (which it wasn’t) – and apologizing, KlearGear escalated the problem.  The lost $20 sale is now a potential $75,000 liability which pales by comparison to the millions of dollars of negative coverage they’re receiving.  As we’ve said before, when you’re doing business the right way, the need to moderate or control customer feedback doesn’t exist.  If your product or service is great, so too will be the general commentary about you on the web and social.  We’ve also talked about how it’s easier and more profitable to sell to repeat customers than to find new ones.  That’s a huge reason why the best retailers go out of their way to minimize (or get rid of!)  bad customer experiences.

This is a textbook case on how not to handle customer service or bad reviews.  It’s about as bad as it gets and reached new depths of business stupidity.  You agree?

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