The political nerds who read this newsletter can’t have missed the fact that in the UK the governing Conservative party got a “bloody nose” this week. There were two by-elections for new members of parliament, both of which were lost in dramatic fashion by the Conservatives. Their voters either stayed at home, refusing to go out and vote for them, or they switched allegiance and opted for an alternative political party. Loyalty had been jettisoned.
Shortly after the election results were announced yesterday, Elon Musk took to the media to tell us about his latest idea. Twitter (or X as he calls it) is to get people to pay for accounts. Already, new users are being asked to pay $1 to set up an account, even if it is a “free” one. You can then opt for “Blue Tick” account which will set you back £11 a month on a mobile app but is discounted to £9.60 if you use the web page instead. No, it makes no sense.
Now, Mr Musk has said that X will have two accounts. The existing premium will have a price increase while a lower level account will be cheaper but include advertising. It’s as though the world’s richest man has no idea how to keep his customers.
Loyal? That’s not a word you would use to describe Twitter/X users and customers. Since the Musk takeover, Twitter/X has lost 59% of its advertising. Usage is plummeting too. Before the announcement of payments for new accounts and revised subscriptions, “Insider Intelligence” reported that by 2024, Twitter would lose 32m users.
In an article from the web traffic experts, Similar Web, it was revealed that Twitter had lost almost 20% of its traffic in the first three months of 2023. I checked myself on Similar Web and there has been a further fall of 11% in the past three months. You can expect that to nosedive even more steeply now that Twitter/X intends to charge people to use its service. Loyalty will not be a word that comes to mind.
Another reason behind Twitter’s slow and painful downfall is the rise in negativity associated with cybersecurity concerns. Earlier this week, the CIA account was easily hacked because of a flaw in how Twitter/X displays text. At the same time, Twitter/X may pull out of Europe altogether following a spat with the EU over disinformation about the conflict in Israel. Musk appears to favour free speech over responsible free speech. That’s one reason why loyalty is dwindling; users do not want to be present in a place where they can’t trust what is said or where respect for others is non-existent.
Whether it is the UK Tory Party or Twitter/X, loyalty is an obvious issue. And yet, the answer to gaining loyalty is really straightforward. Recent research from Forbes shows the fundamentals of maintaining customer loyalty. It all comes down to three things. First, do you treat your customers with respect and provide them with high levels of service? Second, do you align with their values? Third, are your products or services of high quality?
Political opponents to the Conservatives would answer “no” to all three of these questions on behalf of the Tories. Many of the users of Twitter/X would also say “no” the company does not achieve these things. But they are not difficult to do. Even so, many businesses get these fundamentals wrong. That’s clear from findings in a study by TCN, the call centre organisation, which showed that two in three customers will switch to an alternative if they experience poor service. Loyalty is clearly fragile.
Yet, there is a veritable feast of evidence that shows to achieve loyalty all you need to do is have a quality product that you provide in a way that respects your clients. How hard can it be?
