Why Customers Break-Up With You, And How To Save Those Relationships

By Branden Jenkins, GM of Global Retail, Netsuite

A friend of mine recently placed an online order with a major retailer. Within seconds of clicking the button to confirm it, she realized it would be shipped to the wrong address. Having recently moved, she had neglected to update her shipping information in the account she’d had for years. She immediately picked up the phone and dialed customer service, hoping to re-reroute the order. But, to her dismay, the service representative on the other end explained that wasn’t possible. The only remedy was to cancel the entire order, go online and place it again.

Not having time to go through the ordering process again, she simply canceled without reordering. The retailer lost the sale, and potentially her long-term business.

The situation may seem minor. But when you consider that increasing customer retention rates by 5 percent leads to at least a 25 percent increase in profits, every single customer experience counts toward the bottom line.