Unfortunately, very few dedicate time and resources to turn the people who walk through their business' doors into loyal customers. Most organizations spend more money on the repair of their copiers than they do on training their employees to provide exceptional customer service. Once you get customers in the door, you are shooting yourself in the foot if you do not give them the service they want. You could be losing money right there on the spot. More importantly, you might be losing money weeks, months, even years from now.
Customer defections have a surprisingly powerful impact on the bottom line.
It is common for a business to lose 15 to 20 percent of its customers each year. When defections are cut in half, the average growth rate more than doubles. A 5 percent change in rate of retention swings profit increases from 25 percent all the way to 100 percent. That, says Tschohl, is powerful customer research. When service is perceived as bad, not only do consumers not like to patronize the company, but employees don't like to work for it.