February 16, 2012

Customers are not fools – they will go away!

We have all read about the so called PR disasters that some of Australia’s largest consumer brands have suffered from running promotions attached to Twitter. A summary of those encountered by Qantas and more recently Westpac can be seen in a recent article on The Conversation.

This article concludes that it is ‘time for a little honesty and maturity in engaging with your customers’.

In talking to a local business owner this week we focussed on his customers and what they thought of certain changes he had made over recent months in the customer service area of his business. I asked if he had asked his customers what they thought. His response was ‘no’. I then asked what his staff thought. His response was that they had mixed feelings – some thought clients would not notice and others thought clients would not be pleased.

I walked away a little staggered that a business can make changes about its relationship with its most valuable assets without seeking to understand the full impact. I can now see why, as a customer, I am becoming disillusioned with some businesses who take me for granted and at times seek to go out of their way to make me grumpy.

In a time of intense competition for customers we need to make it a high priority for some honesty and maturity in engaging with them. It’s not as it they won’t go away – they will!