Product Stories and Customer Satisfaction

Recently, I had invested in a new “magnetic” nail polish – one of a host of new products that provides wavy lines in the application once you subject the wet polish to a magnet in the cap. I followed the instructions to the letter, eager to get if not a perfect, a similar result. But I didn’t. In fairness, the product gave me some waves, but nothing like the visuals on the display in the store.

But this isn’t a debate about truth in advertising. It’s about what happens when customers tell their story about products on the Internet as opposed to face-to-face.

In this particular case customers within the company’s website had the opportunity to describe how they hated the product, loved the product and most of all explained the best way to use the product and the details were fascinating.

I agreed with the consumers who wanted lighter colors instead of the jewel-like dark ones offered. I concurred (at first) with the consumers who were disappointed with the initial results. But the instructions did say to keep the magnet near the nail for ten seconds and that’s what I did.

Yet when a customer posted that the way to get the most out of the product was to hold the magnet for a minute (per nail) and I was willing to take the time to try. She was right – the patterns and waves were much better.

There are many sites that we wonder if the marketer is the author behind the glowing reviews. There are some news reports that suggest customers are paid to write positive reviews as well. I was particularly appreciative of this site for what appeared to be welcomed and unsolicited information and advice from enthusiastic users.

Admittedly it would have been best to have read this info first, before buying the product, but I admit to a spontaneous purchase – wanting to get in on a trend before it was too late – for a change. In demanding economic times, I ended up acting like many who will spend a little more for quality, just because it is all they can afford to splurge on at the time.

And although the site had no customer service phone number I did find the toll-free phone number eventually and expressed my concern for the product and its usefulness. The rep was very helpful and knowledgeable too.

I know it’s expensive to have this kind of live rep service, but I believe that a company cannot afford to skimp on their customer service access either. There are more automated systems, more requirements than ever to write by email (as the only option in “contact us”). If you don’t have a support team to satisfy your customers – you run the risk of losing them to your competition.

My agency once had a client who defined customer satisfaction as not just satisfying but delighting the customer with an unexpected level of service. Some firms do that. I encourage everyone to write a note of thanks for a great product experience or to notify a firm about the people who do a remarkable job.

But the old analogy still rings pretty true – reports suggest that most customers don’t complain, and dissatisfied ones will tell anywhere between nine and 20 people about the experience, vs. four to six who can rave about how the firm resolved their issue.

So, because any firm can run the risk of falling short, staying proactive and giving people the place to review your products and the customer service they deserve is a lot better than hearing about the problems somewhere else online, or not hearing about them at all.