WSJ Article Highlights Importance of the Phone and How Talking to Customers Increases their Lifetime Value

Here at Ignition we put our phones down once in awhile to read the Wall Street Journal.  Yesterday’s article titled “The Customer-Service Quandary: Touchy Feely or Do It Yourself?” brought up some great points we emphasize when we speak to businesses that are considering licensing a vanity number from us.

The article does a good job of differentiating between why some companies are pushing customers away from the phone and other’s are pushing them towards it. Ultimately the reason companies don’t make their phone numbers readily available is because they are trying to reduce cost. They feel that customers will tolerate reduced customer service in exchange for saving some money. Not having a number conveniently accessible to your customers often creates a frustrating experience and risks that customer’s business.

Here are some highlights from the article:

• “We’re actually trying to figure out how to get customers to call us more often,” says Tony Hsieh, chief executive of Zappos, which is legendary for being a customer-service operation that happens to sell shoes. “Our goal is by the time the customer gets off the phone, it’s like they’ve made a new friend.”
• Zappos’ phone number is on every page of its website. One reason, says Mr. Hsieh, is that the lifetime value of a customer who calls the company for any reason is five to six times as much as the value of a customer who never calls.
• …for lean retail startups growing at an exponential pace, it’s easier to acquire new customers than to worry about those who might be alienated by a lack of customer service.
• that in the age of social media, any customer-service interaction, good or bad, can go viral.

Show your customers you care by having an unforgettable vanity phone number and put it everywhere!

Check out the article HERE.