A brand exists in the minds of prospects and customers and is heavily influenced by our positive memories. It is the sum of all expectations plus all perceptions of experiences. However, some expectations and experiences no longer remain in our brains because most of us have limited storage capacity and tend to forget things, especially as we age (think senior moments). Unfortunately, we can’t control which and when experiences evaporate.
Marketers are professionals whose mission is to produce ads, brochures, websites, trade shows, and other forms of expectations. They work incredibly hard to make these expectations long-lasting and positive. Operational people are also professionals; their job is to accomplish their organization’s mission, and, as a side effect, they create customer experiences at every interaction. The questions are; 1) will these perceptions of experiences be positive memories (from OK to WOW!) and 2) will they be long-lasting?
This table shows the four possible answers to these questions:
I believe this table is self-explanatory, so I will not explain each quadrant.
The 3 Challenges to create positive memories
- One usually unspoken challenge is that none of us simultaneously retains the same memories (if they exist). But, as long as you create positive memories, the mind will always have some of them and not leave a void or room for an old, negative experience to rear its head. As you can guess, I am an optimist.
- Another challenge is that the same experience can result in very different perceptions. Otherwise, how can we explain that Coke (including Coke and Diet Coke) is the most widely recognized product name (what Marketers call brand) in the world and the United States, yet it commands only a 26.9% domestic market share for soda? After all, “everyone” has tried Coke at least once, yet 3 out of 4 soda orders are not Coke when given a choice.
- For many of us, the third challenge is the toughest. It takes about ten positive experiences to reverse the effects of one bad experience. If your business deals with the same individuals daily, all is good again about two weeks after the negative interaction. But what if you are a “New York Steakhouse” where people go for major celebrations or to take major accounts or prospects? Are you sure you will get another chance to change perceptions? But will you really get 8, 10, or 12 chances? Depends on your competition, location, name recognition, and other factors beyond your control.
But if a bad experience can jeopardize one account, is that really so bad? YES, on so many levels:
- Every customer you lose will cost you a chunk of money to replace.
- Losing a customer without a fight can lead the employees down a slippery slope to indifference to retention.
- On average, the dissatisfied customer will tell 22 other people why she will never deal with you again. Each of your satisfied customers will tell nine people. Not such an excellent ratio.
- 80% of your future revenue will come from 20% of your current customers. The odds are 1 in 5 that the dissatisfied customer will be from the top revenue generator group.
Retaining customers is a constant one-on-one battle to create lasting, positive memories. This is one battle that you can’t afford to lose!
To learn about the sources of expectation and how to manage them, please read this article, which appeared in supportindustry.com
About Middlesex Consulting
Middlesex Consulting is an experienced team of professionals with the primary goal of helping capital equipment companies create more value for their clients and stakeholders. Middlesex Consulting continues to provide superior solutions to meet the needs of its clients by focusing on our strengths in Services, Manufacturing, Customer Experience, and Engineering. If you want to learn more about how we can help your organization create or retain more customers, please contact us or check out some of our free articles and white papers here.