AUGUST 2023 | VOL. 13

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.

If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”



Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

As Warren Buffet states, many brands spend millions of dollars a year touting the promise of their products and services hoping to gain market share by elegantly deploying a host of well-packaged sensory tactics. According to a June 12th piece featured in the Wall Street Journal, ad spending will increase 5.9% this year to $874.5 billion. Even to Warren Buffet, that’s not chump change.

But what about those 5 minutes that can “ruin your brand”? Do you have a good handle on the explicit experiences creating the greatest economic risk to your business? In many cases, the answer is simply no, or potentially more dangerous, is chasing problems most frequently mentioned by customers which may or may not have an impact on your business.

In our July poll, we asked our readers how they would rate their commitment to achieving CX excellence. The good news… one-third of you stated that you are “all in”. This is music to our Verde Group ears as we know that reducing friction in the customer and employee experience can lead to improved financial performance.

The not-so-good news…. Nearly half of you stated that you’re either still debating if an improved CX/EX will lead to more business or that it is simply not a priority for your organization. At Verde Group, we get it. We know that many organizations have been burned by flawed CX strategies, lack of organizational adoption of CX/EX change protocols, or investments in voice-of-customer tech platforms that promised the world but delivered little in terms of business results.

This is why we’re in the experience strategy and measurement business!



• To help companies realize the full potential of an improved customer and employee experience on their top and bottom lines.
• To deliver clear, actionable, and understandable plans that employees at all levels intuitively can relate to and that deliver results.

It is our laser focus on identifying the specific experiences that create the greatest economic risk/impact that has been our calling card for over 20 years. And while Revenue@Risk is our branded and patented approach, perhaps it can help you avoid those “5 minutes that can ruin your business”.

July Poll Results

In the July 2023 poll, we asked, "Are you in or are you out? Or somewhere in between?" While the majority of respondents indicated "We're all in!", it's still a small majority.

August 2023 Poll

Our new poll for August explores your confidence in understanding issues impacting your brand and financial performance

How confident are you that your organization knows the specific friction points

that may be “ruining your brand”?

Per NewVoiceMedia, 75% of Customers Still Prefer Live Agents

Rather than Self-Service (12%) or a Chatbot (13%)

"Most people spend more time and energy going around problems

than in trying to solve them."

Henry Ford, Founder - Ford Motor Company

Have you felt this way before when you’ve experienced a problem while trying to purchase a good or service? When friction occurs, our “fight or flight” response kicks in and thus we are hard-wired as humans to either avoid the issue or let companies know when we have experienced a friction point when it has occurred.

Today, when customers have problems, they are often-times pointed toward a tech-oriented solution. Chatbots or self-service tools can certainly reduce the cost of triaging an issue but customers overwhelmingly want to speak to a live person when and if they need to.

Unfortunately, in most cases, your customers will not take the time to let you know if they have experienced a problem. According to Verde Group’s Pulse Database, between 50%-80% of customers will not contact you when they have a problem. This is both an opportunity and a challenge.

We also know that if the customer does take time to contact a brand about a problem they’ve experienced and they are completely satisfied with the outcome, most if not all loyalty will be restored – and there is even the potential of increasing loyalty to your brand. This is the impact of and economic value of a strong service recovery program.

The challenge with this providing a strong service recovery program is that it costs money. And many organizations view service/support as a cost, not a loyalty-building opportunity. Take USAA insurance. USAA provides insurance and financial products to U.S. military personnel and their families. They have invested in customer care over nearly two decades. Increasing the autonomy and empowerment of front-line staff so that they can make things right the first time. By increasing the availability of live agents, removing talk-time restrictions, and increasing cross-functional collaboration to solve issues, USAA has realized consistent year-over-year growth for nearly 100 years.

Read more about USAA from Forbes.com HERE.

Compare this most recent experience with an SaaS provider:

Measuring the efficacy of service recovery is part of Verde Group’s core offering and a key component of our Revenue@Risk® Index. We know that a strong recovery effort rebuilds loyalty and increases revenues whether done via live agent or a technical solution. So make it easy for customers to contact you and when they do, be sure to address their need quickly and completely. The long-term return will greatly out-weigh the short-term investment.

August 2023's Question:

How can I convince our leaders that investing in

the customer experience will result in more business?

Answer:  This question has been raised many times over the years and speaks to the cultural challenges facing many CX practitioners who strive to drive incremental revenue via an improved customer experience. The simple answer is, “Show them the money!”.

At Verde Group, we like to say we are all about the money. Unfortunately, and as previously stated in our newsletters, organizations have been burned by flawed CX metrics, the promise of technological solutions, and/or inconsistent deployment of change initiatives.

Our answer is grounded in our Revenue@Risk methodology where we identify and financially quantify specific experiences that cost the organization revenues and profits. By putting CX into a business context, executives pay attention and with that attention, comes action and results.