Customer Churn: How Marriott Turned Churn into Service Recovery

I stayed in a new hotel in Ohio a while back. The situation was that it was recently opened and should not have been opened until the problems were worked out and management was ready. There were many problems with customer churn, believe me.

Remember this: How to Build Trust to Keep Customers Returning

But not only did the staff take care of the issues for me, the manager, once he got me back to ‘even’, continued to build the relationship with me. His techniques included exceptional, personalized service – using my name in face-to-face greetings, and continued follow-up and attention to detail. He actually made me believe I was the best customer he had ever had. Not only did I forget about the earlier problems, but I was feeling great about the entire three-day experience.

Service recovery requires remaining with your customer, through follow-up, and through unexpected contact well after the issue. All customers deserve our best service … but the ones that have a negative experience represent an opportunity to define a business.

Such an opportunity represents an opportunity to turn customers into enthusiasts and maybe even advocates. And that requires going beyond the ‘break-even’ point for that customer.

Research has shown time and time again that customers who reported a problem and were delighted with the outcome have higher satisfaction with the business than the ones who never experienced a problem.

Why should any company not want to seize such an opportunity?

Try it … the next time you have a customer who has had a back experience with your business.

Need some help in reducing customer churn and building better customer service for your customers? Have you noticed the growing importance from customer service you provide, especially for your marketing?  Creative ideas to help enhance your word of mouth marketing?

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your customer service improvement and pay for results.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas for your service to customers.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.

More reading on customer service from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

Stunning Customer Service Lessons and Their Examples

10 Guarantees of Poor Customer Service

Best Buy Lessons in Customer Service

Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.