We’ve often discussed the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences every time. The Customer Experience (or CX) encompasses thoughtful customer service, a detailed sales process, and great products and services. Your business must deliver on all three consistently, whether we’re talking about at the restaurant table or the hot-tub showroom.
Each of us knows all too well that one bad experience can sour the entire customer-business relationship, and your business would have to deliver numerous great experiences to erase the memory of the bad one. That ratio is a troubling six-to-one. That’s right: your business must deliver six-straight great experiences, on average, for a customer to forget about the negative one. But that’s just for the individual. What about in the world of online reviews, which act as a sort of referral system?
For every negative review, you hope to counteract it with four positive ones. Four-to-one sounds easier than six-to-one, right? But it’s not so simple. In reality, your business needs to deliver around forty great experiences to cancel out the bad one. The reason for this is that a customer who has a bad time at your business is far more likely to leave a review than someone who has a great time. About ten times more likely, as it turns out!
The human psychology of why people remember bad experiences more than good ones is probably more complex than can be covered in a single blog post, but Shep Hyken has a good observation that gives us an idea: “First, consider that the unexpected stands out, while the expected seldom gets noticed. And a good experience is always expected. So, when a customer receives a bad experience, it stands out, because it’s unexpected. By the way, if there’s an over-the-top amazing experience, that stands out, too.”
And therein lies the crux of the whole matter. A good experience is the baseline expectation. Customers “want to be treated with dignity and respect. They expect that if they buy something, it will work and do what it is supposed to. If it doesn’t, they expect the company to stand behind its products and services.” Anything less than that will be remembered, and not fondly.
In today’s world of endless options and easy access to online opinions, bad experiences can torpedo not only your relationship with one customer, but also your chances with several other prospective customers when they share that bad experience online. That’s why we at The Brandt Group stress the importance of delivering a superior customer experience every time. Consistency is key! The price is too high otherwise.
Maintaining that consistency is critical to the long-term survival and success of your business. Don’t wait for the bad review to show up on Yelp or Google: stay ahead of the curve by always keeping an eye on the state of your customer service and more. To that end, we ask that you take a moment to check out our mystery-shopping services. Mystery shopping which will allow you to gauge how well your standards are being upheld, as well as how your customers are enjoying their visits to your business. Armed with that information, you’ll be able to recognize the employees who are doing their best work, those who need additional training, how your products and services are being received by your average customer, and how effective your merchandising is.
Let’s stay ahead of that ratio together. Reach out today!
