The average value of a lost business relationship in Australia is AUD$331. Australian business relationships will be lost nearly 1 in 5 times if a customer is unsatisfied with a transaction. These statistics are from ‘The Cost of Poor Customer Service’ (pdf) report by Genesys that compares the economic impact of customer experience and engagement in 16 key economies.

Globally, Australia has the lowest consumer preference for proactive contact (62%) and a highly mobile collection of customers ready to spend their money elsewhere when they’re not satisfied. And as we’ve already blogged, Aussies are amongst the world’s top complainers. Upshot? Make every customer interaction great, and if customers are contacted proactively, there better be something good in it for them. Improved personalisation and better cross-channel integration are two opportunities for improving the customer experience, and both can be delivered with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system improvements.

Direct marketing, loyalty programs, customer spotlights, social media engagement and gifts can all be integrated with smart CRM platforms for an enriched customer experience. Morton’s Steakhouse combined thorough social media listening, accurate CRM purchase data and a speedy delivery response to delight a loyal customer on his return to NYC. 37signals rewarded a tireless online community member and customer with a personalised gift and note using basic online community data and social media research. Most businesses will favour a repeatable CRM process over irregular heroics, but still - Morton’s and 37signals have earned themselves high-value, long-term customers and priceless word of mouth referrals. And the principles behind their actions - personalised experiences to make the customer feel special - are spot on.

Integrated CRM platforms made these thoughtful high-value gestures possible. Customer profitability typically increases over the life of a retained customer. 68% of long-term B2B customers stop buying because “they just don’t feel loved” (Source: John Coe). What’s your business’ plan for long-term customer retention and profitability?

For customer insight into how the quality of your products and customer service impact customer loyalty, take a look at Lasting Loyalty and Loyalty Lost: A Customer’s Perspective.