Sacrificing the One-time Sale for the Life-time Customer

I just have to take a moment to relate my recent experiences on the phone and at a hardware store as I think it does have some equivalent in the online retail world.

The problem

I recently bought a new clothes washer which turned out to be a massive undertaking. Turns out the model I purchased only was made with a door that opened to the left. This was opposite to my former (now dead) clothes washer which opened to the right. I wanted to avoid switching the position of the washer and dryer because of the hassle and need to purchase all new water lines, gas line, and dryer vent hose. Calling up the clothes washer manufacturer yielded no less than three different answers from their service representatives as to whether they did or did not sell a model with a door that could be switched. Here I was willing to upgrade the model I did buy, but couldn’t get an answer. My favorite part of the whole exchange was the last service representative telling me they didn’t offer it but people called up all the time asking for this. Gee—I wonder what that should tell them?

Lesson for merchants:

• Listen to your customers and try to solve the problem—you can win extra customers by doing so.
• If you can’t solve the problem, at least explain why you have chosen not to offer a solution—don’t just reinforce the perception that you know about it but are unable or unwilling to do something about it. (Further research indicated switching the doors led to leaky washers; that’s all they would have had to say.)

Solving the problem

So now that I had to buy all new longer connections for the washer and dryer I needed to make a trip to the hardware store. It’s worth noting that I live only a few blocks from a big box hardware store. My experiences getting help there have been less than stellar. Instead of going to the close store, I went to the smaller hardware store somewhat farther away.

I was standing in the aisle only for a moment when an employee approached and asked if I needed help. I explained what I needed and he proceeded to ask some questions to understand what I was trying to accomplish, and also tested the part he selected to be sure it was the right size. So far, nothing really out of the ordinary. I then asked if I needed thread sealer for the gas connections. He said yes and explained where to apply it. I noted that I already had the ends and only needed the middle part. He then said that I didn’t need the thread sealer then. Now this employee obviously doesn’t get commission on sales so what I buy doesn’t matter to him, but the store management may be disappointed they missed out on a larger sale (small difference though it was).

If you focused on the single transaction you may say the order size could have been larger with the extra item. However, by sacrificing the one-time sale, this employee won a lifetime customer. Not only will I make the farther trip to the smaller store every time, I will likely trust employees there the next time if I do need an extra part or two.

Lessons for merchants:

• Better service can provide a competitive advantage over the big impersonal stores.
• Be sure customers can contact you if they have questions. Emails may work for products with longer buying cycles, but a 1-800 number invites customers to call. Chat can also work depending on the type of products you sell. Each contact is a chance to form a relationship with a customer.
• Sometimes not making a sale can earn you a customer. Make sure anybody that speaks with your customers by email or phone or chat focuses on how a product solves the customer’s problem or meets their need first before they focus on getting an extra sale or upselling to a product that may not be right.

Short-term gains will not outperform building lifetime customers in most cases. Think about the customer and they will think about your store next time they need a product you sell.

Paul Boisvert
Yahoo! Small Business