​Just the facts ma’am. OK. Here they are. We’ve compiled some of the most important data that exists in the customer service space today. For the next few blogs I write, I'm going to focus on one or two key facts in the spectacular infographic you see to your right. (Feel free to grab it and share it, by the way!)

Today – our headline, because I really think it’s the most important one.

A penny saved is a penny earned, is what people used to say. We've updated it for your business: A customer saved is a penny earned.

The former was your grandfather’s adage for saving money – or at least it was mine. But the essence of saving, of holding on to, investing and growing your investment has been lost in the new economy.  The nuture is over and the churn dominates – spend a penny, lose a penny, make a penny, lose a penny. It's rather frustrating, to tell you the truth.

The penny I’m talking about, of course, is a customer.  The 18-month cycle of the CMO has created an environment where the focus is new customers, (shiny pennies,) while the old ones are left crammed in a jar to tarnish. But here's the problem - While you're spending money on trying to attract brand new shiny customers, no one is paying attention to the most valuable ones - The ones you already have.  Then everyone is shocked (Shocked!) when your board ousts your CMO for non-performance.

Stat: It takes 5x more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. That is a reasonable investment – IF AND ONLY IF you aren’t spending 5x to replace, but to truly acquire.    Are you doing enough to think about retention?  Chances are you could be doing more. A lot more.

Glance down to the next stat - 80% of businesses believe they offer superior customer service.  Only 8% of consumers believe they have had superior services from those businesses. 

Perhaps it's time to spend some time thinking - The best way to earn a new penny might be to pay better attention to the pennies you already have.

But hey, that’s just my two cents.