Customer Retention: Why Investing in Long-term Growth is a Smart Bet
A quote from well-known customer service and customer experience advocate Bill Quiseng encourages organizations to “work as hard to keep a customer as you do to find a new one.” And if you’ve ever wondered if customer retention should at least receive equal effort and investment compared to customer acquisition, here are a few statistics that prove winning a customer is good for business, but keeping one is even better:
- It is six to seven times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing one. – ThinkJar
- The probability of selling to an existing customer is up to 14 times higher than the probability of selling to a new customer. – Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance
- If satisfied by the customer experience, 73% of consumers will recommend a brand to others, and 46% say they will trust that brand’s products and services above all others. – SDL Global CX Wakeup Call Report
Think of the additional customers and lifetime value that could be delivered through a little extra attention to retention. This leads to the importance of an increased focus on and investment in customer service. Consider this:
- 97% of global consumers say that customer service is very important or somewhat important in their choice of and loyalty to a brand. – Microsoft Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report
- The average consumer interacts with customer service 65 times a year.
- 76% of consumers say they view customer service as the true test of how much a company values them. – Aspect Consumer Experience Survey
- 62% of global consumers have stopped doing business with a brand or organization due to a poor customer service experience. – Microsoft Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report
- Once a customer leaves, 4 in 5 say they will never come back, and if they do, 59% say they will be less loyal. – SDL The Global CX Wakeup Call Report
According to a new PwC survey, more than a quarter of U.S. CEOs are increasing their spending on advertising this year. But the most valuable promotion will come to those who not only invest in winning customers, but keeping them.
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Want to Learn More About Customer Service and Retention?
Read 10 Customer Service Trends to Watch in 2016
We’ve asked 10 customer service thought leaders including Chief Customer Officer author and Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) co-founder Jeanne Bliss and New York Times bestselling author and customer service keynote speaker Shep Hyken to give their thoughts on the top customer service trends brands and organizations should be following and acting on in 2016.
We’ve also asked what organizations can do immediately to improve customer service. What were their answers? Download this new eBook today to get expert suggestions on where your attention and budget should be focused in 2016:
