Marketing's Back Door

Here’s a real-world story involving what is often ignored in marketing—the back door. I had been a member of a credit union for more than 20 years when I decided to close my account. I wasn’t mad or upset. I simply moved that money to a bank I used.


I walked in the credit union branch and told the teller what I intended to do. Maybe I was wrong to think this, but I expected her to try and convince me to stay. At the very least, I thought she would ask me why I was leaving. After all, I had been a member for more than two decades. The teller asked me nothing. She simply cut me a check and I walked out of the credit union for the last time.


It was interesting that this same credit union was running an advertising campaign seeking new customers. It was spending precious advertising dollars to bring in new business—and its front door was wide open. But nobody was watching the back door.


The credit union forgot the simple principle that it always costs more to gain a new customer than it does to keep a customer. Watch the marketing back door. Make it emotionally difficult for a customer to leave you.