A great opportunity here for all you customer service revolutionaries.
An article that appeared in the Harvard Business Review (6/07) titled “Companies and the Customers Who Hate Them,” talked about how companies need to create less company-centric and more customer-centric policies. If customer satisfaction creates loyalty, and loyalty produces profit, then why do so many companies infuriate their customers with contracts, hidden fees, fine print, and unnecessary penalties? The article’s authors suggest it is because companies have found that confused and ill-informed customers can be the most profitable.
Financial services, insurance products and phone companies are classic examples of where this ethos is alive and kicking.
In our own industry (residential letting and property management) ‘find’ print is rife – the industry thrives on it – each piece of small print is seen as another opportunity to fleece their clients.
Get rid of small print, hidden fees, restrictions, contracts that are difficult to terminate and watch your customer’s satisfaction and retention rocket!