According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, the news of one unpleasant customer service experience reaches twice as many ears as a positive one. Additionally, it is six to seven times more expensive to obtain a new customer than it is to maintain an old one.
In short, no matter the context, your business can’t afford to have a bad correspondence with a customer. It’s unfortunate when a company doesn’t realize the impact that every correspondence has with a client, and it’s more unfortunate when a company doesn’t realize that there are often simple solutions to prevent a customer from telling everyone they know to hate you. Sometimes it feels like we’ve found ourselves in a world where it’s actually refreshing to have a great experience with a company. Shouldn’t that feel like the norm?!
Recently, we had an experience with a company that really left an impact on us in a positive way.
Jotform, an online form builder, has become a really valuable tool in our day-to-day. We use it for event coordination to get attendees and staff on the same page, we use it as a troubleshooting tool when testing software step-by-step, we use it for work orders to give our staff the details of what we need, and so much more. We’ve been a customer of theirs since 2009 and never looked back.
Their mascot is also a cat wearing something reminiscent of a Saturday Night Fever scene… And I can get behind that.
Funky.
Recently, they changed their pricing scheme and the features that each package holds. With the new change, the package that we were subscribed to would not allow us to keep all of the forms that we have made over the years. The forms that we have used in the past would have to be archived and not be available for use. We understand, the times they are a’changin’ and a company makes the changes that it needs to make. But, to us, this change seemed unnecessary and maybe not the smartest move on their part.
We reached out to Jotform and asked what the dealio is with the new scheme.
They didn’t ignore us, they didn’t give us an “I’m sorry you’re dissatisfied, contact our customer support” spiel, and they didn’t give us any “Unfortunately, we can’t help you” malarkey. They gave us this:
“...you have been with us since 2009, that's a long time! Losing you as a customer would be like losing you as a dear friend, and we do not want that to happen, therefore, we have been allowed by our superiors to increase your forms limit…”
This. THIS! We’ve never found ourselves going out of our way to rave about an online form builder until now.
It often doesn’t take much to satisfy a customer that is almost out the door. Make them feel like they matter, make them feel heard, and give them a personal response. It’s important to always remember that, no matter how big or small your business is, no matter how minor or serious an incident is, your business can’t afford to have a bad correspondence with a customer.
Do you need help with corresponding to your clients and customers? Having a designated representative for correspondence with clients is the most effective way to ensure your customers aren’t left in the dark and unsatisfied. Creosphere offers social media and public relations management. Learn more about this and other managed services we offer.
Source: The White House Office of Consumer Affairs via Help Scout
