Exit Interviews for Marketing

Exit surveys have become a more common occurrence as companies realize that there nearly as much (or more) to learn from customers that are leaving the company than there is from the customers that are currently loyal and spending regularly. There is a lot of data there, and companies can use that data to try to stop customers from moving on to another company, hopefully keeping their long term revenue and improving company growth. But companies often use exit interviews as a way of trying to re-sell the customer on the company’s products. As a consumer, I believe that may not be the right idea – at least in the way that most companies appear to handle it.

On the rare occasions I have been asked to take part in an exit interview, the interview has almost always been conducted by someone on the sales staff. Often during the conversation it felt as though the salesman was trying to hard sell me on the products, even though it was clear I was leaving the company. I am concerned this is not the best way to handle this for the company: Ample research has shown that customer satisfaction does not and cannot change overnight.

Calling someone on the phone and trying to re-sell them on your products is unlikely to be that effective. Indeed, even if you are somehow able to talk them into the sale, you are much more likely to alienate your customers, getting them angry at you for trying to sell them again on something they’ve already decided they don’t want. It undermines the message you are trying to convey with the survey.

You’re trying to claim that the exit survey is designed to make the company better, but what you appear to be saying is “we may use this information to make the company better, but really we just want you to give us more money for products you’ve already decided you don’t want.” Sales people tend to not be the greatest at customer service, and arguably one of the main reasons customers leave is from poor customer service. Sales people are good at selling, but few people leave a conversation with sales staff thinking “Wow, that sales person really cares about me.” Exit interviews can be useful, and can certainly be used to try to sway the person back to your company, but at their heart they need to be about getting data and changing the company. Customers can pick up on these differences.

Exit surveys should be run by those with expertise in customer satisfaction, and while they are free to try to say nice things about your products, they need to convey that they would rather get good data than get the sale back, otherwise they are not likely to have the desired long term effect.