Best Business Practices: Customer loyalty versus switchover marketing

The switchover marketing plan has become the norm in big business and unfortunately, it appears to work. Here is a post about Insight Communications, Inc. and how they do business. Switchover marketing is here to stay because companies believe, and probably have the data to show, that if they can just entice a customer away from another provider in a saturated market, that customer will likely stay with them. Once that customer becomes accustomed to that particular company and service, they will be loathe to leave just because of the hassle in changing again.

The “loathe to leave” principle allows credit card companies to raise interest rates after a year or two, insurance companies to jack up their rates year after year, and cable and phone companies to raise rates even in a bad economy. The cloud in the silver lining is that this practice mainly works for big business and so small businesses can take advantage of the raw feelings the individual customer gets. Small businesses, including law firms, can focus on rewarding customer loyalty and any incentives (discounts, special pricing, etc.) can be directed to those who keep coming back.

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