The #1 Reason businesses fail to grow

According to Small Business Trends, over 50% of small businesses fail in the first year, and 95% fail within the first five years.

By the way , How is your business doing?

Here are some additional stats that may surprise you:

• 40% of small businesses are profitable

• 30% break even

• 30% are constantly losing money

• 9% have a chance of surviving 10 years

Businesses, no matter the size, are constantly challenged with finding ways to capture new customers, increase sales, improve up sell and cross sell opportunities and keep existing customers happy so that they will come back time and time again.

What is The Cost of Bad Customer Service?

With the market is as competitive as it is today and where social media is the channel for airing our discontent, as well as our satisfaction, the cost of not providing good customer service is high.

To put this into perspective, let’s take a look at some research facts.

78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or did not make an intended purchase because of a poor service experience

• It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one negative experience

• News of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for a good service experience

• For every customer who bothers to complain,

• there are 26 others who remain silent

• A typical business hears from 4% of its dissatisfied customers. What do you think happens to the rest of these customers ? Is there a chance they will go to your competition?

70% of the buying experiences are based on how customers feel they are being treated.

At the same time, it’s surprising that 80% of companies say they deliver “superior” customer service, while only 8% of people think these same companies deliver “superior” customer service.

Is there a disconnect here ?

Are you connected to your customers?