A new study reveals the most common reason customers stop doing business with a company — and it’s not about price.

The 2011 Net Promoter Industry Benchmarking study, conducted by Satmetrix, found that 22% of customers have stopped doing business with a company due to a bad customer experience.

The top three types of negative experiences were:

• an interaction with a rude employee
• unexpected charges or fees, and
• poor quality of products or services.

The study also revealed more than 80% of customers trust recommendations from friends, colleagues or family over brand advertising or direct marketing. More than 20% claimed they research online product reviews and buyer opinions prior to making a buying decision. That, of course, means social media plays a major role in today’s buying decisions.

The bottom line: Reinforce the notion of treating every customer like royalty. There are far too many stories of minor disagreements going viral on the internet. In the digital age, every negative experience has the potential to negatively impact the company.

Source: “Study Reveals: Shift Spend to Improving the Buyer Experience,” by Tony Zambito, The Customer Collective.