Important Lessons In Retaining Customers

by | Jan 10, 2018 | Retention & Loyalty | 0 comments

Loyalty programs are a great way for companies to entice people to buy again and again. Customers continue to subscribe and purchase when they can earn points that are redeemable for products and services they perceive as
valuable. Many consumers choose airlines, hotels, restaurants, credit cards and much more on the basis of these programs.

Eliminate Pain Points to Create Loyalty

While a good loyalty program can drive retention, it can cause customers to leave if they encounter pain points throughout the journey. For a loyalty program to be effective, every interaction, from registering for the program, checking point values, redeeming points and getting help must be simple and easy. Recently, I faced a situation that was the complete opposite. Though frustrating at the moment, it provided a great CX lesson.

Reliability Matters

Over the years, I have been a loyal customer of OpenTable. For those who are unfamiliar, the company allows people to make online reservations, read restaurant reviews from diners, and earn points towards free meals at top-rated establishments.

Since I became a member, OpenTable has been consistently reliable and trustworthy. For this reason, I was surprised and concerned to receive emails informing me that my thousands of loyalty points were about to expire.

No customer wants to hear that! As I became more annoyed, I looked at the program details online. The dashboard confirmed that I met all the requirements, so I should not lose any points. Next, I called Customer Care to explain my situation.

This led to more aggravation because the rep was unaware of the emails and needed time to investigate. After a half-hour spent talking to the rep on the phone and forwarding her copies of the notices, I eventually learned that the emails were sent in error due to a system glitch.

Be Considerate of Customer’s Time

The rep sincerely apologized for the technical misunderstanding. While I was glad my points would not be eliminated, my valuable time resolving the issue was lost.  This would have been a perfect opportunity for the rep to turn a bad experience into a better one by offering me bonus points for the trouble and the time wasted. Unfortunately, she did not do so. I wonder if she was not trained to think that way.

Empower Employees To Be Customer-Centric

No company or process is perfect. However, business managers need to proactively make sure there are quality checks in place. When system errors occur, it is important to make all customer care representatives aware and educate those employees on how to handle caller questions in a consistent manner. Further, it helps to allow reps to provide retention offers to irate customers, especially when the customer is upset as a result of the company’s mistake.

While I was understanding, many people do not forgive easily. “82% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company because of bad customer service.” Also, “95% of customers share bad experiences, and half of those people will tell 10+ others.” (Zendesk). These numbers speak volumes. It is the reason why Doing CX Right is essential for business success.

What brand loyalty programs impress you and why? Has there been a time that you went to a competitor because of a bad experience?  Please join me in talking about loyalty programs and other customer experience topics on Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin.

Learn more about DoingCXRight. Increase your CX Skills & Transform Your Organization.

All About DoingCXRight

*All opinions expressed are Stacy’s alone and do not reflect the opinions of or imply the endorsement of employers or other organizations.

Master Your Customer Experience and Service Skills with Stacy Sherman

*All views expressed are Stacys and do not reflect the opinions of or imply the endorsement of employers or other organizations.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *