Word of mouth referral
Over the years consumers have become increasingly cynical about advertising messages, whereas the opinion of others is still highly valued. Furthermore, referral from others now occurs across a much wider community as e-mail and the internet mean that communication occurs on a global level. For many organisations the payback from a satisfied customer is recognised as being greater than the profit from that one sale.
‘Well managed’ processes coupled with ‘well people’ can lead to the rapid resolution of complaints in a way which has a positive knock-on effect. Research shows that people are more likely to tell others about complaints than about great service.