The One Word That Explains Why Some Companies Fail

This article answers the question: Why do some companies fail to keep customers?

Answer: In one word…Consistency. Actually, it’s a lack of consistency. Some companies fail to keep customers because they lack consistency, which weakens customer confidence, trust, and loyalty.

Recently, I wrote an article about the one word that describes what you do for your customers. I went through an exercise to determine what problem I solved for my clients and what caused that problem. As a customer service and CX expert, the problem I solve for is retention. And the reason some companies struggle with retention is a lack of consistency.  

Since my very first customer service keynote speech decades ago, I’ve talked about the importance of consistency. It’s time to bring this lesson back, but this time, I’m going to use a friend’s story to make the point. 

My buddies John and Pete Spanos own Vetta Sports, which has multiple indoor soccer and lacrosse fields that host sports leagues, camps for kids, and adults. One day, a parent approached Pete with a compliment and a complaint. He said, “You guys have the best hot pretzels I’ve ever had.” Nice words from what seemed like a happy customer. Then he said, “But today, you didn’t have pretzels. I didn’t eat anything because I wanted to have one of your hot pretzels.”  

Now you may be thinking this is not much of a lesson. But here is what the customer told Pete, which pulls it all together with something we should all be thinking about. The customer said, “I don’t really care if you have hot pretzels or don’t, but if you’re going to have them, you should always have them.” 

This simple story, over a two-dollar snack item, may be the simplest and purest example of one of the biggest problems companies face: consistency.  

Actually, it’s a lack of consistency.  

Consistency creates confidence. Customers like knowing what to expect. When experiences are predictable in a positive way, customers become comfortable doing business with you. That comfort turns into trust, which is what drives repeat business. 

When a customer is used to something, and then they don’t get it, they wonder what the next time will be like. That can be anything from the availability of a pretzel (a metaphor for anything you sell) to what the customer experiences during their interaction with the company, which is often controlled by people.  

Customers don’t expect perfection, but they do expect reliability. They want to know that the great experience they had yesterday will be the same tomorrow. 

Consistency may not be exciting, but it’s one of the most powerful drivers of confidence and customer loyalty. Customers come back because they trust what they’re going to get. That trust is built one experience at a time.  

The pretzel wasn’t really about the food. It was about confidence. Once customers know what to expect, they rely on it. Inconsistent experiences create doubt. Consistent experiences create customers who say, “I’ll be back!”