And Take That For Being a Loyal Customer!
Last month, I had to switch from Direct TV to ATT U-Verse, not because I wanted to, but because ATT stopped providing DSL lines when they introduced U-Verse bundled services.
With regret, I informed Direct TV that after 6 years of high satisfaction, I would have to cancel my premium service on all four TVs, and my reason why.
In return, Direct TV fully punished me for my disloyalty by charging me a $200 hardware penalty on the equipment even after I shipped the boxes back. While U-Verse is more robust, I have missed the reliability of Direct TV despite paying their fine.
But wasn’t I surprised next when my mailbox was flooded with both new customer and come-back offers from Direct TV with hundreds of dollars off, no set up fees, free movies! Sadly, all they did was make me feel pleased about leaving Direct TV.
What lessons can we learn from this?
- We all know we pay for content and service.
Why punish your customers for obsolete hardware that’s paid for itself and you will resell! - Don’t just ask why your loyal customer is leaving you, but design win-back tactics for each key reason why.
- Treat your “departed” customers better than your prospects, even when they leave you.
Their passion and credibility in word-of-mouth marketing is palpable (i.e. this blog post)
Your thoughts and comments, please.
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