Could your customer attrition problem be a symptom of larger issues?

Could your customer attrition problem be a symptom of larger issues? A publication of

We've heard about Main Street struggles in many local economies.

The assumptions about it in most media coverage go unnoticed. It is a generally accepted barometer for local economic health.

Many towns have expanded and seen old downtown districts evolve. While others have made stepping backwards economically viable.

This may be fine for older or even old style businesses. Newer businesses, in particular, have special vulnerabilities that make survival past the fifth anniversary seem unlikely.

This gives gravity and weight to issues of customer attrition and brand equity.

Main Street struggles

If you know that. What does this mean?There were over a half-million new business owners last year:

•25% will fail in their first year of business.•Of those remaining, 36% will fold in their second year.•Of those still standing, 44% will fail in their 4th year.•And of those remaining, HALF will fail in their 5th year.Source: mashable.com

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2 A report from SheEconomy indicated women influence over 80% of purchases. What does diversity mean in specific terms when each has different perspectives based on different experiences?

Customer Attrition Empowers Individuals

Recent events made me wonder about ways that might play out as a ripple effect (as in #wordofmouthmarketing) after something happened that combined with recent conversations to make me consider the title question.

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Three of the top casual dining restaurants that have, according to Black Box Intelligence, had a decline in

nine of the past thirteen years. Industry wide, restaurants open at least a year, saw a 2% decline in

sales. Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/michael-

santoli/casual-dining-chains-struggle-to-adapt-to-changing-consumer-tastes-203955971.html

Three of the top casual dining restaurants that have, according to Black Box Intelligence, had a decline in

nine of the past thirteen years. Industry wide, restaurants open at least a year, saw a 2% decline in

sales. Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/michael-

santoli/casual-dining-chains-struggle-to-adapt-to-changing-consumer-tastes-203955971.html

Consider

Moving beyond human capital frameworks is an important step in seeing

human development in a broader context.

This is a problem when everything happens in relation to the rate of social

innovation that can support or facilitate other forms of progress or hinder it.

At the same time that there is great interest in technologically innovative industries bringing new jobs to a region or town, there is not the same interest in social innovation.

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Shaping Customer Experience

Limited mental models can conceal devastating assumptions and cultural norms.

Generally I prefer to meet up with friends when we go out of town.

The data may show few customers served but not understanding the problems can

increase what will be spent by your business attempting to compensate for it.

Generally I prefer to meet up with friends when we go out of town.

The data may show few customers served but not understanding the problems can

increase what will be spent by your business attempting to compensate for it.

A Personal Experience

Ooooh! Here’s a new object that just

“appeared” on the right!

Ooooh! Here’s a new object that just

“appeared” on the right!

… And another, on the left!

… And another, on the left!

BRAND ENCOUNTERBut last weekend we had a bout of nostalgia. We were reconnecting with an old friend

passing through. It led us to downtown, recently rebranded as uptown to promote a new vision, it seems to me, of what neosegregation could be.

The new downtown designation marked by Martin Luther King Drive on the other end with a demolished (rather than revitalized) business district and no open restaurants at around

6:30pm on a Saturday night.

BRAND ENCOUNTERBut last weekend we had a bout of nostalgia. We were reconnecting with an old friend

passing through. It led us to downtown, recently rebranded as uptown to promote a new vision, it seems to me, of what neosegregation could be.

The new downtown designation marked by Martin Luther King Drive on the other end with a demolished (rather than revitalized) business district and no open restaurants at around

6:30pm on a Saturday night.

The problem has been that when we give a local place a chance its rarely an experience worth repeating.

Often I remember while I had not visited in awhile. When service is friendly food is typically mediocre. Sometimes that's enough and it's repeated.

Point missedUptown indicating the part of the street that retained its previous name and old business district. The "rebranding" was part of the recent revitalization.

The point of honoring Dr. King was missed and failed to broadly inspire visions of a community expressing this dream of unity and shared respect for a new vision of the nation (specifically the south). As it was implemented it wasn't an honor.

• What is the uptown brand?

As a public relations strategy what was the goal?

A Personal Experience

BRAND ENCOUNTERImagine us sitting at a table being ignored by the server standing a few inches from my left

shoulder. I notice she is moving in between our tables and turning her back to us. I didn't get upset until she had done it twice and it seemed deliberate.

The next time she approached turning her back, I said time to go as I logged on to the TripAdvisor website. See blog post for review about our experience at this local pub in the

uptown district. As we walked out the door, while my husband called our the friend we were meeting to inform him of the change in plans.

BRAND ENCOUNTERImagine us sitting at a table being ignored by the server standing a few inches from my left

shoulder. I notice she is moving in between our tables and turning her back to us. I didn't get upset until she had done it twice and it seemed deliberate.

The next time she approached turning her back, I said time to go as I logged on to the TripAdvisor website. See blog post for review about our experience at this local pub in the

uptown district. As we walked out the door, while my husband called our the friend we were meeting to inform him of the change in plans.

Nothing about the place echoed the "We are building an inclusive community" sign upon entering the town, but our fr iend wanted to meet up where we used to gather and my husband and I had had our f i rst date 26 years prior.

The most recent restaurant to open there was out of business so we went tr ied the place next to i t , before leaving without being served.

The place where we ended up on the other side of town didn't feel hosti le and was rewarded with the business of a diverse community. It was packed with a thirty minute wait.

Impacting brand reputationAs we f i l led our fr iend in at the place where we ended up eating, the server inquired about where it had happened as she delivered a round of dr inks and appetizers.

I watched her retell the story to a co worker as she put orders for our entrees a couple of feet away. The two shook their heads in disbelief.

Since then I've thought about several people who have mentioned their

personal boycotts to me, Not just local small businesses, but big corporate brands like Amazon for violations of

workers rights.

Since then I've thought about several people who have mentioned their

personal boycotts to me, Not just local small businesses, but big corporate brands like Amazon for violations of

workers rights.

This is #wordofmouthmarketing

Unrecognized threatsThis influences people when making client recommendations, planning events, small and large, because regional contexts presents an often unspoken hurdle for newer socially responsible businesses that are able to move towards diversity inclusion.

•I t means some brands have to do more to distinguish themselves from neighboring businesses with a negative reputation. •That may translate into higher marketing, customer acquisition and retention costs. .•The same could be true of businesses that don't realize the ways that they deter women customers. •What would bring this kind of problem to their attention if no one was asking those sorts of questions?

A major obstacle and a fantastic opportunity

Does this kind of situation give an edge to franchises and corporate chains that have

a good reputation for enforcing policies related to product quality, discrimination

or harassment?

This can add up to another set of factors that lesser known are ill prepared to

address.

Does this kind of situation give an edge to franchises and corporate chains that have

a good reputation for enforcing policies related to product quality, discrimination

or harassment?

This can add up to another set of factors that lesser known are ill prepared to

address.

Personal Boycott EvolutionIt is generally accepted that boycotts are a public scandal problem that disrupts sales and investor earnings with protests marches, yelling and floods of emails.

However it is also true that quiet personal boycotts become expressions of collective loyalty to shared values.

And businesses have been caught without an effective defense against a problem they aren't cognizant of as a business or brand issue.

Old thinking catches up to new realities

And by extension the brand legacies in their hands.

This includes state and regional brand economies. Efforts to revise history for better public

relations story is a scandal waiting to happen. Some passionate historian will eventually find

the truth and before you know it a very expensive story falls apart in public.

Earning the tarnish of corruption or discrimination, cast a huge shadow and that is a problem for all •institutions, •chief executives•and business owners in places where the unacceptable is tolerated.

Consequences There are community forums devoted to exposing revisionist history?

Why new approaches to customer attrition and building brand equity are needed

What is at stake if you don't get better at understanding the layers of context at play in your business' success?

What is at stake if you don't get better at understanding the layers of context at play in your business' success?

One is that it takes courage to

change

One is that it takes courage to

change

One of the most common mistakes I notice with surveys is the result of not exploring assumptions and biases in questions or response options.

This is directly related to lack of diversity (in perspectives), and not asking the right questions.

There are many reasons for this.

What changed?A group of friends are planning to meet up. Person One suggest a place to avoid recalling this blog mention.

Person Two shares her negative experience there and that she doesn't feel comfortable supporting that business. Combined with a few other experiences after moving for a job she has since quit, she is organizing her big business launch events several states away.

A third person mentions the whole area feels unwelcoming and questions whether its deliberate. They are celebrating that Person Three is moving to the Pacific northwest.

Person One notes there are a lot of businesses closing in comparison with when they first met everyone went downtown and businesses seemed to stick around.

Seeing Hidden Reality

Could your customer attr it ion

problem actually be the result of personal

boycotts?

Could your customer attr it ion

problem actually be the result of personal

boycotts?

There is frequently unrecognized resistance that expresses in micro economies not just politics.

It makes economic development more expensive on every level. This in turn means having to overcome realities of guilt by association for businesses in areas with reputations that can negatively impact perceptions of your brand to drain its equity.

One last question.. .

Start asking the right questions

Whether you get the best solutions or not depends on asking the right questions.

What often happens instead is “target blindness” gets reinforced leaving many unprepared to survive disruptive innovations.

Will you be one of them?

Go to ArtBasedSolutions.com

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Strategic insight videos to help you reduce customer loss and increase brand loyalty.

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What is it worth to avoid customers cringing when they encounter your brand?

Simply fill in the form at http://ArtBasedSolutions.com or www.webantiphon.com and click “YES” to have a guide sent to your inbox. Only get this guide if you want to:

•strengthen meaningful connections to your brand•enhance brand value and legacy•increase customer loyalty•avoid the pitfal ls of staf f and customer attrit ion•and insulate brand for the future

“Cultivating a better kind of

different.”

“Cultivating a better kind of

different.” Yvette Dubel @ydubel