I have used GoDaddy as my personal website’s domain and hosting provider for over 4 years and I have always been a brand advocate, recommending the company to many of my clients as well as friends.
That all changed pretty quickly last month.
My hosting service was due for a renewal and I received the standard email notice in my inbox. Instead of clicking the “renew now” button on that email, I went straight to GoDaddy’s homepage to log in and look at the different hosting packages to see if there is something more suited to my needs. I was paying about $10.99/month for the service and couldn’t help but feel that it was a bit steep.
When I landed on the homepage, I have seen big, flashy banners advertising the exact same plan that I had for $5.99/month. Puzzled by this, I contacted customer service to validate that it was in fact the same plan and upon confirmation I asked the representative to put me on that plan because, well, 5.99 is cheaper than 10.99.
My request was denied based on the fact that I was an existing user and that the promotion was only available for new users.
Now I have been working in marketing for a long time and I know all about pricing strategies and promotions to acquire new users, nothing wrong with that. But to deny a long time loyal customer and advocate from a lower rate that is being publicly offered? I don’t know in what business context that would be considered a good move…
After the denial of my request, I proceeded to ask the representative, just to make sure, that if I were to cancel my account and sign up again using another one of my email addresses, would I get the promotional rate? The answer: “Yes sir, in that case you would. But you would have to move all of your files manually to your new account.”
Following this disappointing and frustrating conversation, I closed my account with GoDaddy and signed up with a different provider (iPage) that was offering the same kind of plan for $2.5/month.
The point is…
I was well aware of cheaper alternatives to GoDaddy for years. I never bothered switching because I was happy with the service I was getting, and frankly it’s a pain in the butt the move hundreds of files and folders to a new server. So what I am trying to say is this is not just about the money.
Yes, every consumer would love to pay less (in this case less than half!) for a service or a product. But ultimately, it is about how well a brand manages that relationship once it acquires the customers. And if a brand is wise enough to reward its loyal audience, the customers will go out of their way to show loyalty to the brand too; it is a two-way street. Think about how the airlines manage their loyalty programs and how the power mile-collectors go out of their way to fly longer routes to get more miles. If there is no give, there can’t be take…
Sure, I am just one small customer complaining about an unfortunate experience with a $2.3 billion company. Why would they care and does it really affect them? Likely not… But when it comes to customer service, it should be about principle, not how much the account is worth. These days, companies need to be careful about treating customers fairly. Before you know, you might have a song written about your brand that goes viral on YouTube with 15 million views…
