{"id":130151,"date":"2022-03-22T14:42:13","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T21:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/?p=130151"},"modified":"2026-02-23T01:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T08:09:25","slug":"drive-customers-away-tuesday-cx-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/drive-customers-away-tuesday-cx-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Ways You Drive Away Customers | Tuesday CX Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Customer Experience & Expectations<\/b><\/h3>\n

We live in a world where many things are commoditized.\u00a0 One area that a company can set itself apart is the c<\/span>ustomer experience<\/span><\/a> in the <\/span>customer journey<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 That success or breakdown could happen during marketing, within the buying process, with the service delivery or post-delivery.\u00a0 During every <\/span>customer experience touchpoint<\/span><\/a> and at every phase, there is an opportunity to win and retain customers and also lose customers.\u00a0 This is true in a consumer market and in the B2B space. Here are four things that companies consistently do (even if they deny it) that will drive away customers:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Misleading Them<\/span> – This happens often during the marketing or the sales process.\u00a0 From that <\/span>pizza advertisement<\/span><\/a> with the unrealistic cheese to deceptive terminology to close a sale.\u00a0 If you find yourself in a position where you doubt you could pass a lie detector test regarding how you just spoke about your product, chances are the customer will find out as well.<\/span><\/span>Close to home, I have seen companies completely misrepresent what theircustomer experience software platform<\/span><\/a> will do for your business (\u201cYou can run your entire business from our platform and it will even make your morning coffee\u201d).\u00a0 While this is an extreme example, I have seen a sale start with one definition of a feature, but suddenly the legal term in the agreement doesn\u2019t quite align with the expectations.\u00a0 You may lock them in for a year, but it will ruin the relationship in the long term.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Ignoring Their value<\/span> – Nothing bothers customers more than ignoring the value they perceive to bring to you.\u00a0 Certainly, we have moments like this where the customer overstates their value.\u00a0 Like the line from a <\/span>movie<\/span><\/a>: \u201cWe\u2019ve been coming here for 20 years\u201d, \u201cBut sir, we\u2019ve only been open for 8\u201d.\u00a0 However untrue, the emotion behind the comment will be real for the customer.\u00a0 Even worse, when a truly loyal customer is not valued or ignored when their value is known to the brand.\u00a0 A <\/span>customer experience strategy<\/span><\/a> is not just about measurement, but also about taking action to hear the <\/span>voice of the customer<\/span><\/a> – particularly those most loyal.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Ignoring Their complaints<\/span> – Similar, but slightly different is ignoring the customers\u2019 complaints.\u00a0 There is a reason most customer service experience platforms have a <\/span>customer feedback loop<\/span><\/a> process included (if it isn\u2019t in there, it shouldn\u2019t call itself a customer experience platform and if it is in there but not included, you should ask your provider why something so valuable to CX costs extra). There will be service failures, it will be your approach to fixing those service failures that will create affinity, discontent or apathy to your brand over time.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even seen where service failures, mitigated correctly, can create brand advocates.\u00a0 And as I mentioned above, apathy could end up being the worst enemy, which is what will happen when complaints are ignored.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Misunderstanding Their Voice – If they take time to give feedback, be certain to understand what each <\/span>individual <\/span><\/i>customer is saying to you.\u00a0 I am a huge proponent of <\/span>sentiment analysis<\/span><\/a>, however this tool can also work against you.\u00a0 It is very important to understand the root cause of a service failure, it is the reason we introduced our proprietary <\/span>NPS+<\/span><\/a> question type.\u00a0 While sentiment analysis will categorize and group themes together, it is critical to understand the customer emotion<\/a> behind those themes, not just trend themes over time.\u00a0 Our Research Edition has a question type called <\/span>VideoAI<\/span><\/a> for just that reason, to see the expressions and hear the tone.\u00a0 If you only look at the themes on an aggregate level, you will miss context and misunderstand what an individual customer is trying to convey to you.\u00a0 You may come across quite a few \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d responses, but the detailed responses are worth the read.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I\u2019ve often said that customer experience is about the net effect between the customers\u2019 expectations and the perceptions of the service outcomes.\u00a0 This is reflected in what many experts say about our field like the example displayed here:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Hyken<\/p>\n

    One place I would take it further is that in both elements, it will be about their <\/span>perception <\/b>and <\/span>emotion <\/b>of both the promise and the delivery.\u00a0 \u201cDelight\u201d would be the strongest of such an outcome, then perhaps a strong satisfaction. On the other end, you may have disappointment and further to the extreme dissatisfaction or possibly anger.\u00a0 Depending on your perspective, apathy could be the worst of all of them.\u00a0 The standard is high, the competition is tough, but the rewards – for both the customer and your company – are great.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Looking to deliver an exceptional customer experience with QuestionPro CX<\/a>?<\/strong> Discover more about how to delight your customer at every touchpoint and turn them into brand advocates.<\/p>\n