Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones

GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT

It’s a universal rule that what you put into life, you get out. That applies to effort, energy, investment, and commitment. And it equally applies to talent—especially when recruiting and compensating geniuses.

According to www.glassdoor.com—a less-than-scientific collection of submissions from people who claim to be employed by the respective companies—Apple’s geniuses are well paid, even relative to the folk over at Best Buy. The reported average hourly salary for a Genius Bar tech was $18.30, while the reported average hourly salary for a Geek Squad Agent was $11.58. It’s a Mac versus PC commercial in the making but also a reminder that talk is cheap when it comes to employee expectations regarding customer experience.

On a much larger and more pronounced level is the visible disconnect between those who prop up the economy and those who almost brought it down. It’s hard to even begin comparing corporate fat cats at the likes of AIG—who earned millions of dollars a year in undeserved salary, bonuses, and spa treatments—with the average salary³² for entry-level customer-service representatives of $28,500 in the South (which makes up the highest percentage of customer-service representatives at 27.40 percent), equating to an hourly wage of around $15. Perhaps we’ll start to see this gap bridged over time, especially within companies that are experiencing firsthand the value that comes from flipping the employee funnel.