Relationships with Customers

Relationships with customers and clients are tricky things to maintain. When times are good, we see customers provided with all sorts of benefits and specials. The focus on relationship building is strong. However, when the business climate isn't as good, those perks for customers are often cut back, with the focus being on the transaction rather than the relationship.

Lately we've been seeing that with airlines. As fuel costs went up, we saw fuel surcharges and baggage surcharges. Then, things went one step further, with one airline removing the movie screens for inflight movies on domestic flights, and another removing life vests to lower weights (the seat cushions are also a flotation device).

I think that this has led to a focus on the transaction of the flight to the detriment of the relationship with the passengers. However, we're seeing this begin to turn around. Major Canadian airlines are starting to cut the additional fuel and baggage surcharges (click here for the article). They are notably doing so prior to the peak winter traveling season.

Is this a coincidence? Certainly oil has gone down in price for now. Fuel costs are still higher than they were in the recent past though. I think in some ways this is an attempt to rebuild relationships with clients who were growing angry at the fees that they were facing.

Is there a moral in this? Yes. When cutting costs, remember that the relationship with your client is more than the sum of the parts of the transaction. Clients with whom you have a solid relationship will stick with you when times are tough, but if you damage that relationship, you risk losing more than you might gain from a few cost cutting measures.

TAGS: Client, Client Satisfaction, Cutting Costs

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