Lead Response

Response service for potential customers who have left their details in order to receive information or close a deal. We contact customers who have expressed interest in a product or service following a proactive advertising campaign initiated by the client. Speed of response is critical in this field, and we are very meticulous about it. The calls will be service-oriented or sales-oriented according to the client’s needs.

There are dozens if not hundreds of marketing methods in the world; however, there is one highly established method that has proven itself in many companies across all sectors of the economy worldwide, from industrial and consumer products through service sectors to voluntary organizations. The method is based on a simple principle – back to basics.

The most fundamental component in marketing is the person who purchases the service or product, and that is the customer – for those who forgot.

The customer is the one who buys the products, and without them the business will close quickly.

Seemingly simple, every marketer will say that marketing is based on the customer. Companies and organizations invest enormous capital in market segmentation. They segment the market into different segments: teenagers, seniors, young families, customer occupation, etc. Yet at the same time, they ignore the largest and most profitable segment – the disappointed customers segment.

Some statistics and numbers…

Successful companies worldwide have already grasped this concept and are diligently reaping the benefits that this segment provides.

A study conducted in the United States consistently determines that only about 2% of disappointed customers actually complain to the company about a product costing approximately ₪15–20. In other words, for every complaint that reaches the manufacturer, there are another 49 disappointed customers in the market who may not purchase that manufacturer’s/service provider’s products again.

A study by a research institute in the United States shows that about a difficult experience (disappointed customer), a person will tell about 10 other people, and about a good experience (satisfied customer), a person will tell about 5 other people.

Conclusion: For every complaint that reaches the manufacturer, there are about 500 additional customers in the market who are disappointed with the product or have heard that the product or service is defective, and the manufacturer is not even aware of their existence.

Customer service or public inquiries departments are among the most profitable departments for an organization.

Why the most profitable?

A random field survey of hundreds of companies that address this segment (through departments handling public inquiries) showed returns on investment ranging from 50% for electronic products to 100% in garages and durable goods, and up to 400% in the retail sector (other sectors fall somewhere in between).

The common denominator for all these companies is the recognition that handling consumer complaints constitutes an economic necessity.

Many successful companies today integrate customer service procedures and complaint handling as part of their overall marketing strategy. These companies, including Procter Gamble, Digital, Coca-Cola, Bosch, and many others, have recognized the marketing advantages of handling complaints. These companies view consumer complaint handling as a profit center, just like any other product.

It is not enough, of course, to handle consumer complaints; rather, every company must also strive to reduce the defects in the marketing mix from which the complaints arise. Seemingly, there are some contradictions here: the company strives to maximize complaint reception in order to derive lessons on one hand, and to reduce the factors causing customer dissatisfaction on the other.

When addressing a market segment of disappointed customers and providing them with a response in order to create and reach satisfied customers, this is marketing – in practice.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Lack of customer response – there is no cost to the company in the short term, but there is a high cost in the long term because customers will seek any reason in the future to switch to a competing product. There is no benefit to the company, and feedback reception is prevented, since the company is not aware of a problem with the product.

Customer response activity – complaints constitute a warning to the company that something is defective in its marketing mix (defective product, poor service, misleading advertising, etc.), but at the same time the customer grants the company a second opportunity to correct the defect.

The cost of correction (including customer compensation) is very high in the short term, but in the medium and long term generates high revenues that cover the cost and create significant profit for the company. The information obtained is very extensive and significant, and its collection by other methods and means would cost substantial money. The company knows exactly what is defective and how to fix it, so there is great benefit to the company in addition to the direct profits.

How can it be shown to be economical? Is it worthwhile and profitable to handle customer complaints?

Below are the profit points resulting from providing customer service and responding to their inquiries:

1. Long-term profit from the customer (a customer is usually worth much more to the company than the value of the purchase for which they complained).
2. Profit from recruiting new customers through positive word-of-mouth feedback (satisfied customers tell others).
3. Profit from reducing complaint handling expenses through third parties (mainly courts and lawyers).
4. The cost of handling the complaint itself is secondary relative to the value of the results.
5. Reduction of profit loss that would have been created for the company anyway as a result of customer attrition (without handling customer complaints).
6. As a result of receiving feedback, improvements can be made to the product and adapted to market demand at low cost.
7. Image improvement – fast and efficient handling of customer complaints creates an impression of caring, which increases public trust in the company and leads to growth in sales turnover over time.
8. Improvement in work productivity and service – this advantage is particularly prominent in service sectors. A customer who can reach top management with a complaint motivates all employees to perform efficient work.
9. In companies providing service to the customer’s home or operating service centers – reduction of service and operational costs as a result of addressing the root of the problem (whose source is known from the wave of complaints), which can eliminate the problem or reduce its dimensions, thereby saving substantial money and resources invested in handling complaints. Clear maintenance instructions can save the company hundreds of unnecessary home visits by service teams – enormous savings in resources and even enables reduction of workforce.

At Relative Advantage, we emphasize providing customer service and courteous response to customers.