The service one obtains when opening an account or wanting to buy a product is often remarkable. One-click and someone responds; a 10-second wait and you connect with a live person, or any issues and they are willing to find solutions to the ‘minor inconvenience’ and will even apologize. There is no doubt that you, the company, need me as a customer.
You have me now as a customer. Now I have an issue. The product is malfunctioning or broken; I need support; I am having difficulty. This is when I, the customer, require the most help. How telling it is when you discover you cannot find a person to speak with, or you are on hold for over an hour, or leave a number, and we will get back to you in 24 hours.
The company’s effort and support when you need them most indicate what they value most. If it is you, the customer, they will be there right now. If it is merely your revenue, they are nowhere to be found. Little do they know you can switch and that the best form of marketing is trusted referral, and they have lost both in the instant of non-responsiveness.
If organizations focus on customer-centric, get the “I need help’ process first, and likely the rest of the experience will be excellent too.
