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Where’s My Lifeline?
Author: Bill Cusick
October 28, 2004
Life insurance is one of those fairly pedestrian, sometimes depressing, issues you need to face at some point as a “responsible” adult. We have term policies with a couple of different companies. But here’s the weird thing: I’d have a hard time telling you the names of either company. Once I purchased a policy, and set up automatic deduction, it seems I never really heard anything more about it. No thank you letter, no periodic check-in to review our needs. Nothing.
True, I don’t want to be thinking about life insurance all the time, but I’m ripe for plucking (wife, three kids, home, business) and I get nada. Strange…and not very smart.
Will Satisfied Customers Stay? Don’t Bank on It
Author: Bill Cusick
October 18, 2004
Most customers are satisfied. If you look at the numbers - whether for banks, credit unions, insurance, whatever - you’ll find that many customers are satisfied; some are even “very” satisfied. But that doesn’t mean they’re happy with you. And asking if a customer is “satisfied” is not getting to the heart of the matter.
A recent study presented in CNNMoney (June 11, 2004) asked instead this more telling question: “Do you feel that your financial service company is working in your best interests?” The answers they received are, frankly, a little scary. The majority of customers replied that they did not feel like their best interests were considered. To make that clearer, let’s look at one example: Citibank.
The survey says…22% of Citibank’s customers felt that the company was acting in their best interests as customers. That means that 78% do not feel that Citibank is their advocate. Interestingly, the banks and insurers that scored higher in this survey were also growing faster than the industry as a whole.
Go figure.
What the heck? Smile!
Author: Bill Cusick
October 5, 2004
There’s a vendor we use, and we keep going back to them for a variety of reasons - they’re professional, responsive, and they produce high-quality work. But really, a big reason we’re repeat customers is almost silly: it’s the person who answers the phone. When she picks up, she seems so dang happy that I’m calling. It’s like I’ve made her day. In fact, it’s so sunny, so over the top, I have to smile. I can’t help myself.
There are representatives of companies, on the other hand, that - through their tone of voice - create an atmosphere of apocalyptic doom. And these are people who have called me, and they’re performing a customer service review! What’s going on? These are organizations with millions of dollars invested in call center technology and training, and they make me feel bad and frustrated. It’s not brain surgery! Just smile.
