In plain words, when a customer is actively ignored by people who work at the business they’re trying to engage with, it is called customer neglect.
Your customers are just that — customers.
That means they pay you to provide them with your product or service, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be loyal to you forever if you don’t give them something worth paying for in return.
Even if you’re confident that the product or service you offer will keep your customers coming back, it’s still important to treat those customers well because neglecting to do so can cost your business money and put it at risk of losing those customers in the long run.
Recommended: The Future of Customer Service and Rising Customer Expectations
Why You Should Care About Your Customers
The bottom line is that it costs a lot less to keep an existing customer than it does to gain a new one. It’s estimated that acquiring one new customer will cost you at least 5-times what you’re currently earning from your most valuable one.
That’s not good for business!
According to a survey conducted by 1st Financial Training Services, 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, 91% of those will simply leave and never come back..
So how do you make sure your business is doing everything it can to keep those valuable customers happy? The first step is making sure your business has a solid customer service policy in place.
Think about what would make a customer dissatisfied enough to want to leave your company, and then consider precisely how you’d handle each of those cases in an ideal world.
This will provide some guidance as you work on building internal tools and processes that can help you stay on top of resolving issues quickly and courteously.
Once you’ve made sure you have a solid policy in place, it’s time to set your team up for success. Check out these three tips for training your team to provide incredible customer service to make your business stand apart.
Customer Service Doesn’t Work Anymore
What happens when you don’t respond to your customers?
Customer neglect has a direct impact on your ROI. They don’t buy from you anymore. If a business owner doesn’t want to see their business fail, they need to be aware of how important it is to keep in touch with and respond promptly to every customer who contacts them.
On the one hand, our society has never been so connected.
Businesses have access to all kinds of communication tools that make it easy for them to send and receive messages from people around the world at any time.
Furthermore, with almost every business operating online nowadays, it’s easier than ever for people to leave reviews and comments about your company or products, which can significantly impact your reputation.
On the other hand, people are busier than ever. We spend more time at work, on our phones, and our computers than we ever have before.
Our attention is being pulled in multiple directions each day, which makes it difficult for us to stay focused on one thing — primarily when a problem arises that needs fixing.
Studies Show Signs Of Customer Neglect
According to a study, 51% of customers will never do business with a company again after just one negative experience.
This one statistic reveals that even a single negative experience for a customer will cause them to abandon their business.
Forrester has found that 53% of customers are very likely to abandon a purchase if they don’t get a quick answer for their question. This statistic underscores the importance of timely customer service.
Notably, a 2021 study found that 62% of companies did not respond to customer service emails, indicating a profound neglect of customer concerns.
In a world where consumer expectations are rapidly evolving, such lack of engagement can prove detrimental for businesses.
A Salesforce survey revealed that 84% of customers consider the experience a company provides as important as its products and services, up nearly 73% from 2018.
These statistics are a sobering reminder that while businesses may prioritize product development and profitability, a lack of attention to customer needs and concerns could be paving the way for significant loss in customer loyalty and overall market competitiveness.
Although every company probably has its standards for what constitutes good customer service, most companies would probably agree that there are four core components to any business.
What do these numbers mean? It means that nearly half of all business executives don’t really know what it takes to make a business successful.
And if there’s one thing I know about successful business executives, it’s that they obsess over data and metrics.
If I’m making a case for something, and I want to support it with numbers, these will likely be people who will listen.
These survey results show that more than 50% don’t understand what a company needs to do to run a profitable business.
What We Can Learn From Flight Attendants
Airline companies are experts at ensuring that they do not alienate, upset, or mistreat any particular customer.
Customer service and loyalty go hand in hand, so it’s wise for business owners to learn a thing or two from flight attendants, who focus on maintaining positive relationships with all passengers.
Here are some simple ways we can all treat our customers better.
We can learn a thing or two from airline companies’ focus on maintaining positive relationships with all passengers.
Here are some simple ways we can all treat our customers better.
When your company is growing and changing, it’s easy to forget that negative feedback is essential. It’s necessary to always keep in mind what makes your best clients loyal to you and how you can keep them happy.
It’s easy to forget that negative feedback is essential, too. It’s important to always keep in mind what makes your best clients loyal to you and how you can keep them happy.
If you’re going to continue working on building your business and servicing current clients, you must know what they need from you and exactly how well you are doing in those areas.
Customers want to feel appreciated for choosing your company.
Being Nice Pays Off – Always
If a business doesn’t have a loyal fan base, it won’t be able to support itself – it just goes back to supply and demand. But how do you build that base?
Sure, having great products is vital. But so is treating people with respect and empathy. Be nice, and people will come back for more. Even if your product sucks – no one’s going to bother buying from you if they feel like crap after talking with your representative!
Treating your customers well and making them feel valued doesn’t just make them happy – it makes your business better.
You’ll find that loyal fans will go to bat for you, supporting you in every way they can think of (like leaving good reviews on your page or sharing word-of-mouth recommendations).
When people like what you’re doing, they want to do business with you. And let’s face it – treating people with respect is just an intelligent thing to do!
Conclusion
Despite what you may think, listening to your customers isn’t always a massive waste of time.
Take a step back and really listen to what they have to say; they might even tell you how to improve your product or service.
Please take advantage of social media networks like Facebook and Twitter and add contact forms on your website; these are great ways for you to hear from them directly.
Do you want your business to succeed? If so, you need to take care of your customers. They are a source of great feedback, and they’re also good for business.
So don’t be afraid to listen to them, talk with them, or get feedback from them in some other way. Customers should be the top priority for any successful business.
