It has been 18 months since the retention team began and what a rollercoaster it’s been.
The last time I wrote about retention was back in December 2010 where I gave a ‘day in the life’ account of what the team does on a daily basis. Today, February 2012, we only have one original ‘retentionee’ left. So before I start giving you the low down on everything else, I would like to introduce you to the new team: Ross, Alex, Dave, Bell, Jamie, Bindi, Danesh and Rais.
The basic process is still the same; our aim is to understand why members wish to cancel and then use the offers we have in place and knowledge of the product to assist them in the hope that they will stay with us for a bit longer. Since my last blog, the offers we provide have been developed. We not only provide an incentive to our members but also drive revenue in the form of a wide range of offers and discounts across all of our subscription packages.
We have started to notice that members are realising the value of taking up a longer subscription and these particular offers are fast becoming a contender for our most popular incentive. Everyone loves a bargain but what we provide also means that members have some extra time to perfect their profile, use the site facilities and find their match.
The team I have now are second to none. As a result of the business continuing to grow, the average number of calls we are handling per month has risen by 25% in comparison to January 2011. Out of these calls, the number of people we are turning around per month has also increased by a massive 76%. That’s an incredible achievement and is all down to the highly skilled individuals we have recruited and the offers we have available to us. We even have days where, as a team, over a third of all cancellation calls are turned around and this certainly doesn’t look like it will be stopping any time soon.
So, what next…. we’ll continue to adjust targets / KPI’s to get the best performance out of everyone. We’ll also carry on listening to our members’ feedback so we can make sure the processes we have in place reflect the needs of our customer base. As well as this, one of our main priorities for the coming months (alongside retaining custom), is success stories. After all, this is the point of our business and we are really keen to utilise the value of these and show those who may not have found their next relationship yet that the service we provide really does bring people together.
I hope that the next time I write; I will be able to update you on our progress in collecting testimonials and may even share a few of our member’s stories with you.
Alex, Customer Retention Team Leader.