Why People Remember Great Service

Big companies are no strangers to succeeding at and understanding the importance of great customer service. Companies such as Lowe’s, Samsung, FedEx and State Farm all use their great customer service to improve and create brand loyalty to their specific products. But why is efficient, quality customer service so important? Customer service that produces resolutions and results is key in creating loyal, repeat consumers who remember their positive experiences with a company or store.

According to the New York Times, consumers tend to remember bad customer service far more frequently than they do positive ones. In fact, negative experiences are often recalled more strongly and in more detail. Even if a company’s focus is on customer satisfaction and delivering great customer service, one negative event can spiral into a public relations nightmare. Most companies realize that in the current digital age, it is incredibly easy for consumers to share bad experiences online and to perpetuate a belief that certain companies are not very pleasant or helpful to deal with

A recent study showed that out of 1,000 individuals sharing customer service experiences, 70 percent told others about their positive experiences, and only 58 percent shared their negative ones. However, those sharing a bad customer service experience told more people than those sharing a positive experience. While positive experiences were shared, they were shared with fewer people.

Great customer service experiences are often short-lived and create far less stir than the negative events many hear about on online forums or in magazines. Even if great customer service does not always have people raving on the Internet about a certain company, consumers remember how they were treated and come back to that store or brand and even tell their friends about it.

Customer service builds brand loyalty. For instance, if a store has a 100 percent guarantee policy that promises a refund at any time for any reason, consumers are more likely to shop at that store, especially if the policy is enforced by all of its employees. Helpful customer service that leads to consumer satisfaction or effective resolutions creates return consumers because they remember great customer service.

Sometimes consumers do spread the good word about a company’s customer service. By sharing their positive experiences, one loyal consumer can lead to two or three more loyal customers. By creating an environment that promotes efficient and satisfying resolutions to problems, companies can perpetuate great customer service that people remember.

Though consumers may remember negative experiences more than positive ones, great customer service is remembered by customers, who then develop long-term brand or product loyalty. A consumer who is happy with a company’s customer service will continually shop with that company, tell her friends, and may even tell her positive story online.

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