Acquiring a new customer is labor intensive and expensive compared to retaining existing customers, yet many VoIP providers seem to focus much more on customer acquisition and not enough on customer retention. As a general rule, the VoIP industry sees a large number of customers drop out, especially after the introductory pricing/incentives end. But there are many things providers can work on to retain customers, and these improvements can also boost customer acquisition.
Customer/technical support
Not many technology providers focus on customer support, to their detriment. One of the biggest drivers of business VoIP is hassle-free maintenance. Most VoIP customers switch to hosted services to avoid having to buy and repair their own hardware. But these expectations translate into other areas as well.
When something goes wrong, as it inevitably will, or bugs are found, customers expect those issues to be resolved via phone call or email. A common complaint among providers is that customers have to talk to multiple agents or search forums for solutions to common problems. Making sure that service agents have the right communication skills and technical knowledge to troubleshoot phone issues remotely will prove that positive customer experiences are a priority at your company.
Technical problems
These can be service interruptions, dropped calls, or poor audio quality. Sometimes it’s not really the provider’s fault, but they still get blamed for it. Providers can prevent these problems early on by testing the customer’s network, bandwidth, and Internet connections before setting up the service.
However, these issues can arise due to changes in the underlying infrastructure over time. It is up to the provider to ensure that their hardware/equipment is robust enough to scale appropriately as additional clients are added to the network. Changes in the audio codecs being used or other software may also negatively affect customers’ audio experience.
Bad communication
Sometimes a customer is acquired by another company or their needs change. If the provider is not in frequent contact with them, they may not be aware of additional plans that may be a better fit. Therefore, customers may end up leaving the provider for the competition. By keeping in continuous contact with existing customers, the provider can easily offer customized solutions that match customer expectations over time. Customers are also often disappointed that the best prices are reserved for annual contracts, something they hoped to avoid. It’s better to be honest and up front about flexible pricing rather than make the customer feel like they’ve been cheated.