- SERtfICE RETS )

How Do You Value

Your Customers?
If you want to run a successful residential service business,
then consider your customers as long-term assets.
By Aaron Hagan, Mister Sparky

ast m onth, my custom er have done something to keep them from

L
service manager gave a talk leaving.
to our entire team entitled, • 53% of customers will leave if they
“The Value of our Custom­ feel unappreciated.
ers.” It was amazing! In fact, • 88% of consumers are influenced
I liked it so much that I let by online reviews before choosing a
him know on the spot I was going to steal company.
the idea and write an article on it. • It costs six to seven times more to
Let me set the scene for you. Our acquire a new customer then it does to
customer service manager proceeded retain one.
to the front of our training room to If you take care of your customers,
begin his talk carrying a very thick this is what you can expect in return:
w ooden cutting board and a cloth • 58% are willing to spend more on
draped over the top, concealing what­ companies that provide excellent cus­
ever lay underneath. He sat the cutting tomer service.
board down and removed the cloth • 52% of consumers have made
to reveal a rubber chicken and a large more purchases from a company after
meat cleaver. Without saying a word, he having a good customer service experi­
situated the rubber chicken with one ence.
hand and used his other hand to grab • A loyal customer is worth up to 10
the cleaver. He raised the cleaver high Aaron Hagan times as much as his or her first purchase.
in the air and dropped it down with a • 80% of your company’s future
loud thud, neatly cutting the head off the length of a football field. revenue will come from just 20% of your
the chicken. Needless to say, this got • The chicken will produce an ad­ existing customers.
everyone’s undivided attention. ditional 10 chickens that will do the very Your customers are not unlike these
The customer service manager told same thing for you. chickens. Do you see them for their
his audience, “This chicken can feed us • The cycle never ends as long as you short-term worth or do you see them for
once — that’s short-term nourishment take care of your chickens. their long-term value?
— or it can feed us for generations.” Here are some numbers to consider *These statistics were found at http://
He went on to compare the value of a if you regard your customers as “short­ www.insightsquared.com/2015/04/100-
chicken long-term to the value of a cus­ term nourishment”*: customer-service-statistics-you-need-
tomer long-term. Here are some really • 48% of people who have a negative to-know /.
good points on how we should view the experience tell 10+ people about it. © 2016 Clockwork IP, LLC. EC&M
long-term value of our customers. • For every complaint, there are 26
The value of a well-cared-for chicken more customers who stay quiet and say Hagan is a second-generation electrician.
can be equated to the following: nothing. He owns and operates the Mister Sparky
• In its lifetime, one chicken will • It takes 12 positive experiences to locations serving Northwest Arkansas,
lay enough eggs to feed a family of four make up for one unresolved negative O klahoma City, and Tulsa, Okla. He
breakfast for more than six months. experience. oversees a staff o f 30, which includes elec­
• The chicken will supply enough • 82% of customers who switched tricians and technicians. He can he reached
eggs to bake enough 2-ft cakes to line companies said the company could at aaron@mistersparkynwa.com.

C6 EC&M D e ce m b e r 2 0 1 6 • w w w .ecm w eb.com

© 2016 Penton Media, Inc. All rights reserved.