In an ideal world, we are always looking for ways to make all of our customers happy, all the time. In reality, however, we face trade-offs of our time, attention and resources and then find ourselves having to choose the customers to focus on.
Do you focus on those unhappy members you wish to win over, or do you spend your time with the happy members you rarely hear from or even think about?
Researchers have found most service-focused companies spend, on average, 80 percent of their resources trying to improve the experience of their unhappiest customers. Instead, research determines when you focus your attention on your most satisfied and happiest members, they will end up spending almost nine times more money with you. This increase in revenue is a direct result of members engaging with you in programs and services you provide.
The findings of this research showed negative feedback and outcomes pack more of a punch with leaders, and this is a common response of most people. In general, humans spend more time focusing on the bad things that happen than the good.
In the book “The Power of Moments — Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact,” authors Chip and Dan Heath say, “There is nine times more to gain by elevating positive customers than by eliminating negative ones.”
The authors’ advice encourages leaders and service providers to focus on creating fans and elevating customer satisfaction by creating remarkable moments. This requires “peaks,” or moments that will evoke positive emotion and exceed customer expectation.
What can you do this month to create customer service “peaks?” Take some time to brainstorm ways you and your team can break away from routine to create these magical moments in your business. Break out of the status quo and try something out of the ordinary. Pump up the effort and embrace the positive.
Mo Hagan is vice president of program innovation for GoodLife Fitness and canfitpro.
