Silence is Not Golden: Firm Response and Nonresponse to Consumer Correspondence

When a consumer contacts a company, it provides the firm with an opportunity to begin a dialogue. If a problem occurred with a good or service, a customer complaint provides a company with the opportunity to correct the problem and perhaps retain a customer. A consumer compliment provides the opportunity to turn a satisfied consumer into a brand advocate. Yet surprisingly nearly 30% of the companies in this study allowed this vital opportunity to go to waste.