Bad customer service can affect your business even more than you think

According to a recent survey, 61% of clients would leave your business for a competitor after encountering just one negative customer service experience. Apart from losing active users (and thus, part of your revenue) bad customer service may also lead to damaged reputation and resigning employees.

In this article, you can learn more about these dangerous consequences of bad customer service.

Revenue loss   

Did you know what happened to MoviePass in 2018?

For less than $10 a month, the subscription offered access to one film every day from any movie theater. The company soon acquired 3 million subscribers.

After just two months of operation, MoviePass realized they could not sustain their current business model, and they converted users to an annual plan with only three movies available per month. On top of this, customer service did not offer sufficient help for people wanting to opt out: some people complained that they were not refunded, others were charged even after canceling their subscriptions.

The company faced lawsuits and lost over 90% of customers within just one year due to their unpredictable upcharges and terrible customer service.

Damaged reputation

Without a doubt, your reputation is one of the most valuable assets of your company. Unfortunately, it takes only a few minutes to lose your reputation due to bad customer service.

Whether you like it or not, customers are your company’s most powerful marketing weapon. If they have a bad experience with your business, they will tell their friends, family and colleagues. In the worst scenario, they will leave a negative online review about your company, which of course will greatly damage your reputation.

Indeed, customers these days are quick to share their negative experiences online, leaving comments on review sites and social media channels. And for new customers, it will take only a few minutes to check your company’s negative reviews, resulting in staying away from your business. 

Customers leave  

With competition becoming fiercer than ever, customers these days can choose from many options when it comes to purchasing a product or service. And you can be sure that if they experience poor service, they will leave you for the competition in no time.

As acquiring new customers takes more effort than to retain the existing ones, losing customers due to bad customer service is something no business can afford.

Furthermore, when you lose a loyal customer, chances are they will share their bad experiences with their acquaintances, further damaging your reputation.

Employees leave

Bad customer service will have a negative side effect on your team as well, resulting in not only losing your customers but your best employees, too.

When your company provides bad customer service, your employees will be the first ones to hear about it straight from your customers. And some of these upset customers will not be a pleasure to talk with.

As nobody likes to talk to angry customers, having to constantly deal with complaining customers will definitely take a toll on your employees as well. This will lead to burnout and eventually, your employees will desert the sinking ship.

Avoid bad customer service at all costs

Now that you really can see the dangerous consequences of bad customer service, will you go the extra mile to always provide exceptional service? We hope you will. Here are some posts to help you maintain excellent customer service:

• Coaching methods for excellent customer support
• Top 5 customer service mistakes you need to avoid
• The power of positive attitude in customer service