🚀 go-pugleaf

Any company not listening to customer reactions to their products is asking
to loose market share.

WHAT IT COSTS TO LOSE A CUSTOMER

- In the avarage business, for every customer who bothers to complain, there 
are 26 others who remain silent.

- The average wronged customer will tell 8 to 16 people (Over 10% will
tell more then 20 people) {unless you are on the net of course - me}

- 91% of unhappy customers will never purchase goods or services from 
you again.

- If you make an effort to remedy customer's complaints, 82% to 95% of
them stay with you.

-
- It costs about five times as much to attract a new customer as it costs to 
keep an old one.

The above info comes from the US Office of Consummer Affairs.

Taking the above into account, it makes since for a company to listen in 
on as many forums as possible to capture the customer's voice and use that
feedback to improve the product. It also make since in a forum such as
notes to have at least one knowledgable person actively helping product
users, clearing up misconceptions, and lending a helping hand where ever
possible.  It makes exellent business sense for companies in the Mac market
to have a rep active in this group whose job is to provide user help &
feedback to the company. This news group is probably an exellent sample
group for high end user/programmer customer feedback. Its ongoing &
cheaper then any other kind of customer survey anyone could come up for 
the power user/programmer.

I think any company that has its act together as a customer driven company
should have at least one active "customer evanglist" on the net.

TeriAnn
twakeman@hpcea.ce.hp.com