Customers Are Leaving In Droves

Situation:

Good news – AOL’s new pricing plan with unlimited minutes for a fixed price was very successful. Too successful. Bad news – AOL couldn’t ramp up their technology fast enough to meet demand. Customers either couldn’t get on or were being dropped. A quarter of a million customers called each month to cancel. And while AOL had a technical patch – leased telephone lines during peak usage times – customers didn’t know about this work-around. Another problem, when the unhappy customer called, reps offered customers a free month of service without solving the real cause of their dissatisfaction. Most of these customers canceled within 30 days.

Solution:

We changed AOL’s retention strategy.  First, AOL needed to learn the real reason for the customers’ dissatisfaction.  Second, reps had to learn appropriate solutions to the various issues. To do this, reps had to change their approach to their interpersonal skills. And third, they needed to offer that month of free service only after they had solved the customer’s problem.

In addition, we developed a retention training program that taught reps how to develop trust and rapport so customers would disclose the real reason for disconnecting.  Then, reps were taught how to fill customer needs with the appropriate product solution.  And finally, reps were empowered to give that free month of service – a reward when customers discussed the real reason for their dissatisfaction.

Results:

Within two months of this training, AOL increased the retention rate from 18% to 44% and retained these customers for at least 90 days. AOL also gathered important intelligence about the customers’ reasons for disconnecting. AOL further developed responses to customers’ needs and put these into an EPSS (electronic performance support system) so they could quickly resolve any problems with the service. Asking questions, listening to the responses, and empathy made the difference.