A Retention Story
I quit an internet group recently. It was one of those "mastermind" type cohorts. I paid a high-side-of-normal sum, applied and was accepted, and participated in the welcome session. Overall it was fairly well organized as far as these groups go. But I quit because I didn't feel right about it in my gut.
I emailed the leader a few hours after the introduction meeting, letting her know that it wasn't a fit. Here's what she said:
- "This is the first time in X years that I've ever received a request like this"
- "Why don't you think this is right?"
- "Our terms are that we don't give refunds once membership starts"
- "We can refund your partial fee, minus $XXXX which includes credit card transaction fees, curating custom introductions for you, a 30 minute coaching call with me that I gave to the person who referred you, and creating your custom member badge".
Nothing she said was out of bounds. These aren't bad things to say. But as a fundraiser I couldn't help but notice how badly she missed an opportunity to give a customer a strong goodbye. With the right response she could built a relationship that might generate a referral. But more than that, we all deserve excellent service at every opportunity.
The email put words to my gut feeling – this group seems (I hope I'm wrong) to communicate with defensive posture.
What if instead she wrote:
-"I'm so grateful that you brought this to my attention."
-"How can we make it better moving forward?"
-"We want to make sure this process is as easy as possible for you. Would you consider hopping on the phone with the team to help figure out if there's a way to fix what's broken?"
- "We're happy to waive any fees and will refund the transaction that we processed earlier today. We did incur a few minor costs on our end. Would you consider allowing me to withhold those from the refund, so I can make sure my team is compensated fairly?"
Retention is the most important metric in fundraising by a long shot, and the only number that comes close is referral.
I compare her note to a lovely letter from the Ritz Carlton, written in 1953, to wealthy businessman and heir Robert Goelet, chasing him down for $2.47 (equivalent to about $24 today).
It reads, "In apologizing for the inconvenience and annoyance caused in this matter may we take the opportunity of assuring you of our sincere appreciation of your valued patronage and of our desire to be of service always".
That's how you keep customers.