Here's how we got 97% customer retention!

“When was the last time you were expected to sign a contract to eat at a restaurant?”

This is the question I ask my customers when they inquire if we have any contracts for our Thinkster Math tutoring program (available through Desktops, Laptops, Tablets and used by students in over 30+ countries).

I get total silence first.

Then they break out with a big smile.

“You are right! Never”…they confess…a tad sheepishly.

My point precisely!

You revisit a restaurant if you like their food, their ambiance, their service and the value you get for the money you spend with them.

We are no different. I go on to explain that we want our customers to love us. If they like our tutoring program for their kids, love our personal touch every time they interact with our tutors or staff, love our curriculum…

I also tell them that contracts are meant to do only one thing — to retain you beyond your honeymoon period. “But contracts make us complacent…” — I tell them.

If we are not keeping our customers happy, we want them to fire us the next month. This way we will know that we are not doing something right and can fix it immediately instead of waiting for several months.

Having contracts means that we will not be agile about running our business where customer satisfaction trumps all else. Why wait to hear about things that need fixing if we can fix them now and immediately than wait and allow the same problem to fester and disappoint hundreds of other customers? Why go seek to destroy your own business when we should be spending the time to build the strongest foundation ever — when you are young?

Bottom-line — we want to be loved and have our customers come back to us every month because of it, not because we held them to a contract!

Our focus is simple and singular — we want our students to be happy, engaged and learning.

All else falls into place — parent satisfaction, customer retention rates, acquisitions costs, employee morale, teacher satisfaction…you get the idea!

We are not doing anything different other than making sure that everyone we come in contact with really understands our ethos and our mission and purpose.

It’s all about the white-glove service.

Success cannot be taken away from you if you practice this one simple approach.

Here’s to a contract-free world!

Do you agree? What hurdles do you see when you take care of customers? Please share your comments.