We all believe we know our customers and what they want. But how often is it that we get to take a peek inside their minds? Return On Behavior Magazine posted a blog compiling 50 statistics from reputable sources that gives us compelling insight into consumer behavior and values. Here are the top 10 that we thought stood out the most:

1. Price is not the main reason for customer churn, it is actually due to the overall poor quality of customer service – Accenture global customer satisfaction report 2008.

2. A customer is 4 times more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service-related than price- or product-related – Bain & Company

3. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 – 70%. The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20% – Marketing Metrics.

4. A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10% –Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy.

5. 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, however 91% of those will simply leave and never come back – 1Financial Training services.

6. A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs.

7. Happy customers who get their issue resolved tell about 4-6 people about their experience. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs.

8. 55% of customers would pay extra to guarantee a better service – Defaqto research.

9. A 5% reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits by 5 – 95% – Bain & Company.

10. It costs 6–7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one – Bain & Company.

Although these statistics could be applied to any number of industries, your tenants exhibit the same behavior and have the same needs, because after all, they are your customers. The most fascinating facts that we pulled out of this is how much customers value quality service over price, and how much more cost efficient it is to retain a customer than prospect for new ones. As a Property Manager, here are some ways that you can make sure you are providing the best experience possible for your tenants:

1. Define, standardize and put a service program in place – Make sure your facility teams respond quickly and efficiently to work order requests and all customer issues, and have a system that keeps your tenants up to date on the progress and status of those.
2. Make sure your equipment is inspected regularly – Don’t wait until after something breaks, which can be more costly than finding a potential problem before it gets worse and ultimately becomes your tenants’ problem. Have a way to schedule routine inspections, and have alerts set to make sure you follow through.
3. Have a way to manage your data – In order to find operational and tenant service weaknesses or pick up on trends, you need a way to see where the problems are. Having an Operations Performance Management solution in place will allow you to have real time visibility into actionable data and intelligence, helping you recognize where your strengths lie, and where improvement is needed.

For the full list of customer statistics, check out 50 Facts about Customer Experience, at Return on Behavior Magazine.