I've been looking at a lot of data lately.
Last week we dug into some social media marketing numbers, this week we'll go bigger and look at some of the major internet trends from Mary Meeker's latest report.
Let's start with a bit of a perspective.
There are 3.4B global internet users. And there are about 7.5B people in the world. That's a penetration of 46%.
Is your head spinning? It certainly will be after we go through some of the major learnings I've picked out for you.
Let's get started.
I recently finished listening to The Coaching Habit: Say Yes, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by . (It's funny to say "listening" instead of "reading" but hey, in our busy lives we optimise everything and so when I walk to work, I often listen to books. Thanks, Audible!)
The book was written for managers to help them be better leaders, communicate more effectively with team members, provide better support and coaching and so have more impact. Achieving this comes down to seven key questions that the author identifies as the essence of leading.
I believe, though, that these seven questions can be an effective technique in any business relationship that requires communication.
When speaking to customers (especially over the phone or Zoom or skype), these seven questions can help you get to the bottom of what the problem really is and how you can help. The same applies to consulting. I've always said that the best form of consulting is question-asking.
Did you know that it's five to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one?
On top of that, improving customer retention rates by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%.
If you ask me, these are numbers that I certainly wouldn't ignore.
Unfortunately, far too many companies focus almost exclusively on net new sales and customer service remains just there as a given.
I see this with my agency partners at HubSpot all the time.
Of course, money in is important. You need that to keep the business running but if you want to scale an agency, sales and services need to be on the same level. Keeping your customers happy is priority number one too because that's how you ensure you have a sustainable revenue flow coming in all the time. You renew your agency-client retainers year after year because you continue to provide value.
So how do you do keep your customer happy?
With a simple framework that I call the three pillars of customer delight.
Today I'm going to tell you a story about customer experience and how customer experience can make or break your brand.
Last week on Wednesday, I was getting excited to fly over to Frankfurt to speak at a HubSpot User Group event organised by one of my partner agencies. I was supposed to present about Inbound PR so of course I couldn't wait!
I woke up early in the morning to start packing for this quick trip and catch my flight at 12.30pm.
I make myself a cup of coffee, turn on the laptop to check my emails quickly and as I always proactively do, I went to Dublin Airport's website to see whether my flight would have any delays just so that I am aware of changes, if at all any.
I saw something else, though.
I am going to tell you a story today. A story about the absolute worst shopping and customer service experience EVER with Littlewoods Ireland (I feel terrible about giving them an inbound link now but I need you to see it and never ever shop there!)
So two Saturdays ago (17 July) I am running around Dublin to find a fascinator. Yep, a fascinator, because I am going to the Galway races this Friday. I am very specific with what I need as to colours, size etc. Unfortunately, I cannot find anything in the shops in town so what do I do? Well, I go shopping online! And I find Littlewoords Ireland. They actually do have something that fits what I need! So I order it. I go through an incredibly long process of creating an account. Regardless, I'm content because I've found a fascinator to fit with my outfit!
Turns out I am never going to get that fascinator.
