The Brand Flip: Why customers now run companies and how to profit from it (Voices That Matter) by Marty Neumeier

Author:Marty Neumeier
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780134172972
Publisher: Pearson Education
Published: 2015-07-23T14:00:00+00:00

A recent study discovered an 80/80 rule: 80 percent of business is service, and 80 percent of customers report bad service. Companies that punish their customers are fair game for flipped brands. Netflix, T-Mobile, Southwest, and others have taken full advantage of the 80/80 rule—by breaking it.

Marketing psychologist Kit Yarrow notes that customers want five things from a purchasing decision: 1) to feel more in control, 2) to reduce the fear of making a mistake, 3) to simplify the decision process, 4) to offer clear and immediate emotional benefits, and 5) to be free of obstacles. Of these five, she says, customer control is the best “antidote to anxiety.” Anxiety goes far to explain the extraordinary power of customer reviews.

Psychology professor Ryan Martin says that although we tend to share the happiness of people we are closest to, we are quite willing to join the “rage of strangers” when we’re unhappy. Rage claims immediate attention on social media. A full 80 percent of purchasers say they’ve changed their minds after reading a single negative review.

How can you avoid the wrath of customers who feel wronged? By flipping your brand from customer punishment to customer protection.

Start by uncovering the hidden costs, risks, irritations, anxieties, and points of confusion in your customer interactions. What keeps them from buying? Why do they exit your website mid-purchase? What are their questions when they call customer service? How can you reduce their anxiety? Eliminate boredom? Make customers feel central and give them control?

One tool you can apply is forgiveness. Forgiveness is a concept that took root in user-interface design. It includes features like “Undo,” for when you change your mind; “Did you mean...” for when you’ve made a mistake: “Are you sure...” before you make an important decision, “Auto save” to keep you from starting over, and the ability to come back to your last screen after you exit. A forgiving format is one that accepts various kinds of user input and lets the system sort it out.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings employs forgiveness to create “subscriber happiness.” He makes sure it’s ultra-simple for customers to quit the service any time without a penalty. If the exit door is well marked, he reasons, subscribers will be more likely to come back.

Progressive, unlike other car insurance companies, protects its customers at the moment of highest anxiety: the accident. An adjuster drives to the scene, calms the claimant’s fears, and calls for a replacement car. In most cases he settles the claim then and there and hands the customer a check.

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