How much money does your/your company throw away by unknowingly sending customers to competitors?
When I wanted to buy a bracelet at the Bijenkorf yesterday, I was helped by a friendly saleswoman.
She indicated that the bracelet I wanted to buy was not available in my size, but could be backordered.
I said; fine, can you have it delivered to my house then?
To which the saleswoman said; no, unfortunately that is not possible. You will have to
You will have to pick it up here in Eindhoven, because it will be sent with the next delivery.
When I looked further, saw another bracelet and was helped by another saleswoman, it turned out that my size was not available either.
I asked again: could I order it so that it would be delivered to my home?
The saleswoman answered; yes, that would be fine. You would have to do that yourself when you get home.
When I got home, knew what bracelet I wanted and what size I needed I started Googling for this item….
You guessed it, competitors of the Bijenkorf came up with a much more interesting offer.
Despite being more than fine with paying a premium at the Bijenkorf itself because of the good service, I ordered the item online from a competitor because of the lower price and free cleaning kit.
Maybe not entirely neat, but it would be foolish to go pay extra in that case.
Without mentioning specific names of companies, in practice I often see situations like this pass by where salespeople or customer service employees unknowingly send (potential) customers directly or indirectly to competitors.
In short, if your company is in a (highly) competitive market and you are not the cheapest option in it, make sure you are best choice in a given situation.
How do you think companies can best spot these kinds of “leaks”?
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