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Not surprisingly customer service in the telecom industry is in the news again. 

Wireless carriers are not known for their customer service – most marketing messages are about having the cool new phone or cheaper family plans – but perhaps they should pay more attention to it. It seems that Telecoms are struggling to handle complex, changing service demands. 

The result is that in the telecom market, Poor Customer Service Drains Brand Equity. According to a new study by Sametrix Inc., word of mouth (WOM) has a significant financial impact. Vince Nowinski, Sametrix’s director of methodology, puts it like this.

A lot of the emphasis in the industry is around technology and customer acquisition; there isn’t a lot of energy spent in customer loyalty. But you can’t really overcome having a large number of people saying bad things about you.

In the wireless industry the top two factors for a positive WOM are the strength of network (i.e., the product) and the ease of doing business. Detractors’ negative word-of-mouth behavior represents a significant hidden cost and net drain on the bottom line.

According to the study, a customer who recommends a company and its products (a Promoter) is worth about half a new additional customer in terms of WOM marketing value. A Detractor (i.e., someone unlikely to recommend the company) accounts for a loss of about one-and-a-third customers in terms of losses in customer retention.

The other item points out rather provokingly that Customer Service Overkill Can Kill You.

I was recently raving to a friend about the wine selection at a local wine shop. He told me he knew about the place and agreed it was top notch, but he also said  he no longer shops there.  Turns out my friend feels the wine shop staff is “overly nice.”

That also perhaps is linked with a pushy sales person who will not leave you alone, when you really prefer to take your time.

It all comes back to those fundamental words of Peter Drucker, “Help is defined by the recipient”.  The only way to find out if your customer service is right is to ask your customers. .. that is provided you as CEO have the nerve to really listen and the intention to act on what they are asking for.

It is not rocket science: what is needed is really very obvious.  If you need any further ammunition to get all the troops on side as you transform your organization into one that serves (an increasing number of) customers, here are some useful references:

• The Benefits of Being Customer-Centric 
• 7 Habits Of A Truly Customer-Centric Selling Organization
• The CEO Also Has to Be the Customer Experience Officer 

Technorati Tags: Customer experience, customer loyalty, Customer retention, customer service, Peter Drucker