Buyer’s remorse: What is it & why does it matter?

Have you ever heard of the term; buyer’s remorse?

This post will explain a little about what it is and how to stop it from hurting your business!

Buyer’s remorse

Buyer’s remorse is the name given to that feeling we get, when we buy a product or service and then discover something that makes us wish we hadn’t.  With product sales, we generally feel buyer’s remorse when we find a lower price for the same product, somewhere else.  With services, buyers remorse often happens when we learn that the great service we received during the sales process, is not how that company looks after us once they have our money.

It’s that feeling in the pit of our stomach that tells us we have been fooled or suckered and it’s extremely powerful.

Powerful?

Oh yes!  If enough people feel buyer’s remorse about a particular service provider, it can put that provider out of business!

Buyer’s remorse and customer service

Many companies allocate more time and effort to marketing, than they do to customer service.  They wrongly see marketing and customer service as two largely unrelated things.  The truth is that they are both essential parts of a business’ development.

Why?

• A business that increases sales by 20% in a year BUT loses 20% of their customer base annually because of average quality service, is going nowhere.
• A business that increases sales by 20% in a year BUT loses 21% of their customer base annually because of poor quality service, is going broke.

As I have said here before, companies that look after their customers and genuinely go the extra mile, not only retain more of their existing customers, they also enjoy a windfall reward:  They attract word of mouth referrals from their happy customers!

Conversely, when companies under-deliver to their customers, they find that their reputation within the marketplace can be severely damaged.  Today, if Bob upsets a customer, they won’t just call his company and complain – they will tell their buddies on Twitter, Facebook etc.

So, how long does it take to tell your whole social network about your bad experience?  Seconds!  This is one of the reasons why today, it makes more sense than ever to connect your customer service operation and your marketing operation.

Buyer’s remorse: Why is it so common?

One of the reasons there is so much buyer’s remorse out there, is that many businesses are very poor at listening to their customers and clients.

Providers make the mistake of assuming that silence is golden – That if they are not getting calls and emails of complaint, that everyone’s happy. Of course, the reality is that in the massive majority of instances, this is just not the case.

Many people choose to avoid confrontation with a supplier and simply leave the service, as soon as they are able to.  In fact, as I said earlier, people today are a lot more inclined to share their frustration with their friends on a social network, than to confront the provider.

The bottom line here, is that business owners simply cannot allow this to happen.  It’s important to proactively ask for feedback, especially from those customers you have not heard from in a while.

The best businesses listen to their customers and seek to constantly improve the quality of their offering.  They see buyer’s remorse as a complete failure and work hard to combat it.  They want every customer experience with them to be not only positive, but of such great value that their customers want to sing their names from the roof tops!

If a business  wants to attract word of mouth referrals, it need to offer a level of service that’s REALLY worth talking about.

To be remarked upon, we must first become remarkable!

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