I’m a big fan of good customer support. I’ve talked before about how Cablevision messed up pretty big in setting up our service, and was much happier to talk about how they worked amazingly hard to make up for some shortcomings. They wound up getting a brand advocate for life. Another company just did that this week. Here’s what they did, how it cost little, and how it pays dividends (and why your brand should be doing it too).
The Problem
We got my daughter a Rock Candy Wii Nunchuck controller for Christmas. Unfortunately, it has a package design which I still think is less than optimal as it hides a the cord to the controller. In opening the package, the cord was severed. 100% our fault. But, I figured I’d Tweet at the company anyway, just to see if they’d do anything. It can’t hurt.
The Response
The company’s first win was the fact that they actually responded on social media. It still amazes me how many companies in 2014 still do not manage and monitor brand social media accounts. It’s the perfect opportunity to be around conversations that are happening about your brand with a chance to respond. It’s like a retail store not having a customer service department.
Whoever managed the account (probably a 3rd party) simply asked me to contact them through the contact form on their website. Not a problem. I sent a picture of the controller with a severed cord and just asked “if there’s anything you can do, I’d greatly appreciate it.” I didn’t know whether or not I’d hear anything, but I did.
The response I got included a direct email and phone number. I was told that replacement for physical damage isn’t covered under normal circumstances, but that they’d like to replace it anyway as a courtesy. When I informed them that I no longer had a receipt, they didn’t mind, and didn’t even require me to send the defective unit back (also apparently not normal policy). The bottom line is that they repeatedly went out of their way to make sure I could get a replacement unit, even though they had no obligation to do so.
How much could it cost them to send a controller? Probably about $5 plus shipping. How much would it have cost them not to send one? Who knows. I wouldn’t have bad mouthed them on social media or a blog – someone else may have though. Could cost a lot in lost business. Instead they’re having someone talk positively about them on social media and a blog. If that influences one purchase, they come out ahead. On top of that, I know I would specifically buy from them again compared to a competitor – even at a slightly higher price.
The Alternative
On the other hand, I bought a car earlier this year from a dealership I had purchased a car from before. However, the heat wasn’t working when it finally got cold in October, 5 months later. The salesman told me at the time that I bought the car that they’d stand behind their vehicles. When I called him about the heat, he said they couldn’t have tested it when I bought the car, but that they still couldn’t do anything about it. I had to fight to get the diagnostic charge waived, they took a full day to try to fix the car, still weren’t able to, and never followed up as promised. Guess where I won’t be getting a car from next time.
What are you doing to keep and retain customers? Here are three things you need to make sure you’re doing:
1. Monitor social media and actively respond. If you’re not monitoring social media accounts for your business in this day and age, I can almost guarantee your business will be smaller in 2 years. Yes, it may cost you a little more to have someone monitoring social media (though you may have some team members that can already do it, and there are plenty of tools available that you can use to decrease the amount of time you need to spend), but the present day cost/reward almost mandates that you do it.
2. Go the extra mile. When you do respond, make sure that you’re doing everything that you can to help someone else. It matters, and it gets noticed.
3. Follow up. Don’t let someone just drop off. Don’t stop responding until something is resolved or it’s apparent that someone is completely unreasonable. Better yet, show someone you actually care by following up and making sure they’re happy, you can win advocates.
