The Dark Side of Word-of-Mouth Advertising
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005The internet, and blogging in particular, offers the ultimate form of word-of-mouth advertising. A new product can be released, friends tell friends from all over the world, and the product can be a big hit.
Of course, the downside is that if your product or service stinks, then those same friends will be influenced not to buy from you, and the internet is full of great examples like this one from the The Patriette about Northwest Airlines and its customer service department.
Indeed, it seems that the vast majority of complaints that I read are the result of incompetent, lazy, or undertrained customer service departments. Another couple of examples: The widely read Gizmodo’s take-down of T-Mobile has convinced me to never, ever purchase a T-Mobile product, and Joe Peacock’s epic 7-part customer service torture session with Dell has made me skittish about buying from them. (Fair warning about Peacock’s post: He does swear on occasion; use a profanity filter.)
So, business leaders, here’s my message to you: Quit treating the customer service like an expense. Quit trying to cut costs by minimizing training budgets and outsourcing overseas. Remember that A) It’s much easier–and cheaper–to keep the customer you have than to get a new one and that B) that customer you offend or irritate can and probably will tell as many people as he or she can.
