We recently conducted some focus groups for a telecommunication company among former customers of the company. In the first group we asked why they left, most initially said “price – it was too expensive”. However, when we re-framed the question to “what could XYZ company had done to keep you as a customer?” we got to the heart of the matter. Rarely, when we framed the question in this way did the respondents say “price”. Mostly we received comments such as “well, if they would have had better channel selection…”, “given me better technical support…”, “faster Internet speed…”, etc.
You see rarely is it about price. It’s about value. These former customers were giving up more than they were receiving from their provider. We also gained understanding of the pain points associated with switching telecommunication providers. We concluded that while some did leave for “better AND cheaper” service, if they were satisfied – getting what they wanted – switching to a new provider probably would not have been an option because they were 1) happy with their service and 2) not willing to go through the pain of switching.
Bottom line: Have reasonable prices and don’t give your customers a compelling reason to leave.
