Have you ever felt that marketing content by ISPs mostly sounds exaggerated? The offers, plans, and added features seem too good to be true. And maybe they are. Because most Internet service providers are to ensure the provision of their advertised services.
ISPs are not exactly liars. The reasons for these experiences can be many. Sometimes, geographical conditions and climate are not feasible. While sometimes, the infrastructure deployed in a particular area doesn’t support the advertised speeds. For instance, rural areas.
However, most successful ISP and cable companies have managed to hire skilled customer service professionals. If you reach out to them, they will exactly tell you what to expect. One instance is Cox cable customer service. There’s no exaggeration in their marketing tactics. And they wouldn’t confuse you with weird calculations.
Major Factors That Cause the Customers to Drift Away
Let’s throw some light on some of the problems with the Internet service providers in our country:
Misleading Marketing
As mentioned earlier, sometimes an issue can be genuine. We gave the example of rural areas. Now rural areas are quite remote and far away from urban societies. They usually don’t have access to advanced services. Even if a customer goes for a very expensive plan in a rural area, they might not experience a premium service.
So, what is the ISP’s fault? The answer is misinformation and misguidance. ISPs should reconsider their marketing strategies in this regard. They should categorize the speed tiers for urban and rural areas clearly. They shouldn’t use a single chunk of general marketing text as if it’s workable in any part of the U.S.
Moreover, in areas where their supporting infrastructure is not deployed, clearly mention that. They should mark those cities and towns on their websites. Their customer service reps should also be vigilant about providing honest information based on the customer’s location.
Blaming the Customers
Secondly, blaming the customers is another major problem with the ISPs. ISPs promote a marketing campaign that doesn’t specify which cities and towns would be able to enjoy those services. Users from any part of the country, lured in by this marketing, can be tempted to subscribe to them.
When the user will face disappointment on not getting the advertised services, then ISPs would, in turn, blame them for not knowing. This is very disturbing and unprofessional behavior. And it leads to getting poor feedback and losing customers.
Not Keeping Up with the Competition
There was a time when larger ISPs such as Xfinity, Spectrum, AT&T, and Cox didn’t have competitors. In those times, they worried more about investors than the customers. There was no streamlined process or channel for the customers to bring in complaints. They would experience service malfunctions and glitches and bear with them because they had no option. And no one to go to.
Well, times have changed. And there are tons of other ISPs. Switching to a new ISP isn’t much of a hassle anymore. Many ISPs have improvised new and innovative methods of addressing customers’ complaints. They have worked on creating well-designed and well-thought plans and bundles to facilitate their customers. And they have especially worked on the pain points of the customers.
Therefore, if giant ISPs don’t improve themselves, they will continue to lose customers.
Poor Customer Care Service
We just mentioned how frustrating it was to not be able to ask to fix a service glitch or an interruption. Or even ask about wrong billing. Customer service today is more important than ever. Modern customers expect efficient and effective customer service to come as an essential plus with every product or service they buy.
Furthermore, we live in the age of social media. Customers today know their rights. If ISPs do not address their queries and issues, then they should be ready to get poor feedback. This feedback and reviews will appear on various platforms across the internet. Moreover, not only the ISP will lose that particular customer, but it would also lose hundreds of potential or even existing customers who will read those reviews.
Therefore, investing in their customer service is the need of the hour. They should hire skilled and competent individuals. These reps should be great at interpersonal skills and problem-solving. In addition, they should address the customers’ queries as soon as possible. Increasing the waiting time will only decrease their customers.
Not Improving the Plans, Bundles, and Pricing Features
It’s high time and ISPs revise their charges for their services. This includes the service charges, equipment charges, and others. This essentially includes hidden charges, which can be very frustrating for customers. Moreover, they should also work on designing comprehensive internet plans. These plans should fit the needs of low, medium, and heavy internet users.
The clubbing options need to improve too. Customers are losing interest in cable TV because of the influx of streaming services. So, if the clubbed options are overpriced or the channel tiers are disappointing, they are not going to go for them.