Did You Know?

What drives brand loyalty?

When asked "What do you believe is the biggest driver of true consumer loyalty to specific brands?" marketing executives from around the world reported that the top four drivers of true consumer-brand loyalty are:

1. Satisfaction (51%);
2. Emotion (32%);
3. Usefulness (12%);
4. Pricing (5%)

Source:The Wise Marketer

44% of people cite core service failures - incidents due to mistakes or other technical problems with a service itself. Service encounter failures were the second largest category of service switching, mentioned by 34%.  These were employees perceived as 'uncaring,' 'impolite,' 'unresponsive' or 'unknowledgeable.'

Source:Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory Study.Susan M. Keaveney

Customer Service Facts & Myths

Myth
There is a common philosophy that one should "Never apologize to a customer."The belief is that this increases an organization's liability.Nothing is further from the truth.

Fact
 large body of research demonstrates that, when error is made on the part of an organization, speed and sincerity of an apology is directly related to customer satisfaction.Satisfaction is further increased with assurances that action will be taken to ensure a service failure will not be repeated.

Customer Service in the News

Online Websites Help Score One for Consumers
To anyone who has felt trapped in a circle of bad service: If you haven't heard the story of Mona Shaw, pull up a chair. The 75-year-old Virginian had ordered a much-advertised package of services from Comcast, her cable company. The installers failed to show up at their appointed time. They came by two days later but didn't finish the job. Comcast subsequently cut off all her service. (More)

Investigators put Customer Service to the Test
When you go shopping, you expect to be treated like a King or Queen. As the ABC15 Investigators uncovered, that isn't always the case.A hidden camera investigation of twelve popular Valley stores showed instance after instance of poor customer service. (More)

Drive Towards Better Customer Service 
Good customer service is the most important issue in the Bahamian business sector today, according to Francois Bourque, sales manager at Bahamas Business Solutions Limited (BBSL). . . . "There's sort of a shift, in that it (good customer service) used to be important, and it sort of slipped, and now we're realizing that we went the wrong way," he said.(More) 

Southwest Airlines tops in Customer Service

Southwest Airlines has topped a consumer poll to find the carrier with the best reputation for customer service.The airline came ahead of JetBlue and American Airlines, with an average customer service score of 7.27 out of 10. (More)

Customer Service Around the World!