Customer Care for Profit

Customer Care for profit

By Marc Thornton, DTA Marketing

Why do some people buy from the same shop, eat at the same restaurant or use the same service provider all the time? The simple answer is that they like it and they are well looked after.

Wouldn’t it be great and very profitable if every customer that bought from you returned regularly and perhaps introduced their friend to your business. Your business would grow and the future of the business would be secure.

Since it costs approximately five times more to obtain a new customer than to retain an existing customer, it is worth putting a great deal of effort into looking after existing customers- Customer Care. In small and medium sized companies, especially in service companies, improved customer care can make a noticeable difference.

Improving the level of customer care to your customers will not cost you a fortune. In fact, customer care is all about the way we treat our customers from the top of the company right through to every staff members that deals with customers. If you do not look after your customers they might easily switch to a competitor. The average business never hears from 96 per cent of its dissatisfied customers according to international research. In the US, it is estimated that dissatisfied customers tell nine or ten of their friends about their bad experience.   In Ireland this figure is likely to be higher.

It is possible that if you provide a poor service and have dissatisfied customers, your profits will deteriorate and you will slowly go out of business. Is it enough to satisfy customers? If you were satisfied with a particular service or would you rush out and tell your friends? Unlikely. Many people buy newspapers or cigarettes every day and don’t even notice the service. Yet other choose to go to a particular shop or petrol station and pass other outlets on the way. Why? Because they were well looked after and were delighted with the service.

The companies... [continues]

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