Fast Guide to Fundamental Facts & Figures on Customer Focus and Service

My strategic partner for customer service training, Ray Miller, is the author of the book That's Customer Focus (You can order it via my website). Ray recently prepared this summary of the headlines of much of the Customer Focus, Service Excellence and Customer Experience Research. I wanted to share this, to make sure you have our fingers on the pulse of what customers and business leaders are saying and thinking. It’s not listed in any order as it is all important!

80% of companies believe they deliver a superior Customer Experience; however, only 8% of their customers agree.
This represents a significant difference in perception and since it is the customers’ perception that drives their buying behavior, this is pretty scary.

Beyond price and product quality, your customers value how they are treated. Only 12 -14% of customers leave for product reasons while 68% leave because of poor treatment by employees.
To make matters worse, most of your customers do not complain about poor service because they don’t think it will do any good.

Only 4% of unhappy customers ever complain; 90% do not bother to complain and simply go elsewhere.
Your customers are looking for maximum value when spending their hard-earned cash, particularly in this economy.

Depending on the report you look at, from 85% to 95% of senior business leaders believe that the next competitive differentiator is Customer Experience.
The customer experience requires the active participation of everyone in your organization. Creating and implementing a comprehensive Customer Focus strategy will differentiate your business.

In this market, Companies are losing at least half of their “satisfied” customers.
“Satisfy” means providing nothing more or less than the customer expects. Customers want to deal with those who demonstrate that their business is valued. Creating a Customer-Focused Culture is a proven strategy for both short-term success and long-term growth.

The average value of customers is 8 to 10 times their initial purchase depending on the research we have reviewed. The cost to attract a new customer is 5 to 6 times more than your cost to save an existing customer.
Keeping your existing customers is cheaper and more profitable than getting new ones. Yet most companies are focusing their marketing efforts on obtaining new business, sometimes at the expense of their existing customers.

The cost of poor service ranges between 25% to 35% of your operating expenses.
Aligning internal processes and ensuring every employee understands how he or she contributes to the customer experience will reduce the cost of poor service. Why not move the total of these expenses from your expense journal to your operating profit.

Low customer focus companies average a 1% Return on Sales and lose 2% market share a year. High customer focus companies average a 10 -12% Return on Sales and grow 5 – 6% a year.
Customer Focus is a profit strategy.

A 5% increase in customer loyalty will contribute between 25% and 125% directly to your bottom line.
I’m repeating myself but Customer Focus is a profit strategy.