04.07.19

I recently moved house, and like most of us, had the task of arranging service dis-connections and re-connections.

 

Slick on the surface, promising me wonderful things, my service provider’s marketing machine said everything that I wanted to hear and feel about my new customer experience.

 

Service delivery time came and went, my designated contractor arrived outside of the service window, double parking in my driveway, and managed to stay until after 8pm. Leaving a frustrated household behind.

 

As it turned out, the service wasn’t quite delivered, so a repeat visit was required by another contractor. Numerous follow up phone calls, and fees for two contractor site visits paid.

 

Two weeks later, I received a survey asking me about my customer experience. As a marketer, I always feel obliged. I was honest, constructive and took about 25 minutes to complete the task…essentially noting my polite disappointment in just about every answer.

 

A further four weeks later, I have had no follow up or feedback from the survey, my aspirations of fabulous service and a great experience are now a thing of the past. Yes, I know it sounds a tad jaded, and yes, I realize I’m just another customer in the system, and will see my contract through.

 

So stepping away from my gripe – my question is why do organizations spend so much money attracting customers, only to lose them to an awful service experience?

 

Is their business model based on knowing once customers are committed, they are less likely to switch?

 

Do they not adequately plan for the true scale of their operations, and underestimate the resourcing budget required to deliver on the service promise?

 

Or do they simply not understand what different customer segments want?

 

Experience has shown us that putting customers at the heart of the service experience is the most commercially savvy thing that a company can do because it leads to engagement, customer loyalty, and the holy grail of long term profit. So why do organizations keep getting the connection between the marketing promise and service delivery wrong?

 

My service provider has failed to make that connection for me as a customer, and I’m confident that I’m not the only one.

 

Anne Baker is Director and Founder of Two Crowns Marketing Communications. A Melbourne based marketing consultancy specializing in the property, professional services and community sector.