What’s Better Than Perfect? A Lesson for Telecom Agents

Customer experience and satisfaction is crucial to business success. This simple truth has been common knowledge in business for centuries. Ben Franklin famously remarked that, “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” In other words: customer experience is all. While awareness of the importance of customer experience has existed for a very long time, the science of measuring it with surveys and statistics is fairly new.

Automobiles have long been one of the most expensive products purchased by consumers. Automobile manufacturers, starting with the innovative Henry Ford, have had tremendous motivation to ensure a positive customer experience with their products to drive referrals and loyalty. To address this need, years ago J.D. Power, the consumer research firm, developed an Initial Quality Study to measure the satisfaction of vehicle buyers during the first 90 days of ownership. The report compiles the results of surveys of thousand of new vehicle buyers regarding over 200 details of their new vehicles and their ownership experience. When the study was launched the results were used primarily, as the name implies, to measure the initial quality of the vehicles themselves. Which models are the highest quality? How does a certain Ford sedan compare to a similar Toyota sedan in quality? But then, a couple years into carrying out the survey, something unexpected happened.

Toyota was a top performer in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study during the first few years that it was conducted. Toyota makes high-quality vehicles that are priced for the largest consumer segments so this is probably not a big surprise. But when the fine details of the survey responses from new Toyota owners were investigated, a startling pattern was revealed:

• A large percentage of new Toyota owners reported no issues with their vehicle within the first 90 days. They had been driving their vehicle regularly but, after three months, everything was still perfect: no mechanical or electrical issues, nothing had gone wrong with the interior or exterior of the vehicle, and their actual mileage per gallon was as expected. In other words, their experience with the vehicle had been PERFECT -- it was still running like the day they first drove it off the new car lot. These customers rated their vehicle quality very high -- like 95% satisfaction.
• A smaller percentage of new Toyota owners did have an issue of some kind. They heard a noise they didn’t like, a switch on the dashboard broke, or they felt a vibration that concerned them. These owners brought their vehicles back to the Toyota dealer for service under the warranty and reported that the issue was resolved quickly and for no charge. These customers rated their vehicle quality the highest -- like 97%. That’s right, these owners who had an issue with their vehicle’s quality -- but experienced it being fixed to their satisfaction -- rated their vehicle’s quality even higher than owners who had no issues at all! So the experience of having a problem and getting it resolved was BETTER than having no problem at all: BETTER THAN PERFECT.

This result shocked a lot of people -- but it probably shouldn’t have. After all, it makes sense. We all know that a product as complex as an automobile that we use for several years and subject to myriad hazards is bound to have an issue of some kind sooner or later. So when we have an issue with our vehicle and see it resolved satisfactorily, that is extremely reassuring.

Telecommunications services work exactly the same way. The telecom network is very complex and something will inevitably go wrong causing an interruption or degradation of service. Business customers know this -- and so do savvy sellers. The key is the customer’s experience when an issue does occur. PhoneSentry lets telecom agents and agencies monitor their clients’ phone service, without installing any hardware or software, and get instant alerts whenever an issue occurs. Agents that respond to alerts by reaching out to clients with an offer to help will cement their relationship and build loyalty that can be converted into renewals, upsells, and referrals. Remember, it’s not a matter of whether there will be an issue with business telecom services -- that’s a guarantee -- it’s a matter of how you respond. For a limited time PhoneSentry is offering a free, no-obligation 90-day trial. Learn more at phonesentry.com or message me on LinkedIn. Godspeed.