So Who Needs Customers Anyway?
by Ron Rosenberg
There’s a conversation that takes place far too often with attendees in my live programs. It goes something like this:
Me: What is the purpose of a customer?
Them: To get the sale.
Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that it’s quite the opposite: the purpose of the sale is to get the customer!
Most people follow a very rudimentary business plan: find a prospect, call the prospect, get the sale, move on to the next one. This sounds curiously like the instructions on the back of the shampoo bottle: wet hair, lather, rinse, repeat.
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When Bad Things Happen to Good Business Owners and Entrepreneurs!
by Michelle PW
It’s an unfortunate fact of life (and business). Out of the blue you get a nasty email from someone. Sometimes it’s about an article you’ve written. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a refund request. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s tied to anything at all.
Or maybe you discover someone writing malicious things about you on a blog or a forum. Or maybe some other negative things suddenly start getting tweeted or posted to Facebook about you, your products or your business.
7 Ways to Move Your Customers from Satisfied to Loyalty
by Debra Schmidt
Forget the customer satisfaction surveys. When it boils down to determining customer loyalty, there are only two questions that you need to ask your customers:
“Will you recommend our business to others?”
If your customers answer “yes” to these questions, thank them profusely. They’ve just saved your company a fortune in marketing.
If your customers answer “no” to the questions, immediately ask them, “Why not?”
Then, follow up with a more important question, “What could we have done differently?”
Are your customers telling you that everything is fine, implying they are satisfied? If so, you may have a problem, because 65-85% of customers who say they are satisfied, actually switch to the competition. Satisfied customers are neutral. They’re keeping one eye on the road to see if someone out there will give them better value for their money. Don’t settle for satisfied customers if you want to stay in business and secure your job.
Here are 7 ways to move your customers from satisfied to loyal:
1. View every customer interaction as a golden opportunity.
Every interaction you have with a customer gives you the opportunity to strengthen the loyalty bond. Your customers are measuring how they are treated by every employee who provides any service. These contacts can be face-to-face, by telephone, by email and even by other written communication.
2. Deliver more than your customer expects.
Be very realistic when making even the smallest promises to your customers. In other words, don’t promise anything you are not absolutely sure you can deliver. Then, take your service one step further to surprise your customers. For example, call your customers back just to thank them for giving you the opportunity to handle their service requests.
3. Greet every customer like a special friend.
Customers are thrilled when they deal with service providers who seem genuinely glad to work with them. Your whole face needs to light up with joy when they walk through the door. Greet them quickly and sincerely. If you are on the telephone, don’t forget that your customers can hear a “smile” in your voice. Remember, you are talking to another person, not a headset. Even the tone of your customer email messages needs to sound friendly and gracious.
4. Ask your customers detailed questions about what they like and dislike.
Invite feedback by asking your customers to tell you how they felt about their service experience. Rather than reading from a survey or a script, simply chat with your customers and ask them what they like and dislike about doing business with you or your company. Ask open-ended questions that encourage their suggestions for improvements. For example, “Mr. Schmidt, I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how we can make it even more fun to do business with us.”
5. Make your customers feel important.
Feature your key customers in the company newsletter or, with permission, post their comments on your website. Introduce them to other employees when they come in to do business. Notice and acknowledge their accomplishments. For example, when one of my clients was featured in a local magazine. I purchased a copy of the magazine, attached a hand-written congratulations note and mailed it to him.
6. Communicate with your customers frequently.
Stay in touch with your customers. Be proactive in keeping them posted about the status of their order or complaint resolution. Send them birthday and holiday greeting cards. Pick up the phone and call just to say, “Hello.” Make sure there are no strings attached such as a sales pitch.
7. Reward your customers for their loyalty.
Don’t ever take your regular customers for granted. Frequently remind them that they are genuinely appreciated. Extend a loyal customer discounts or waive small fees such as shipping expenses when they place their next order. Send them hand-written “thank you” notes that include a small gift such as a pen, gift card or calendar.
Need more tips? Deb’s book, Building Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out will give you practical, proven advice on how to:
- Build a positive spirit of teamwork and collaboration inside your organization.
- Stop committing service sins that drive customers away.
- Communicate more effectively to build customer rapport and trust.
- Deliver old-fashioned, caring service that will delight your customers.
- Increase customer retention and generate positive word-of-mouth to increase sales.
Debra J. Schmidt is known as the Loyalty Leader® and is the author of Building Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out. As a consultant, trainer and professional speaker, Debra helps companies boost profits by leading the way to greater customer loyalty. Visit www.LoyaltyLeader.com to subscribe to Debra’s free online newsletter or learn how you can hire her deliver onsite training to you and your employees.
More Lessons from “The Cult of the Customer”
By Shep Hykin
The Cult of the Customer comes from five very distinct phases, or cults, that companies operate in. Do any of these describe you and/or your company?
1. The Cult of Uncertainty – This is where most companies are working from. In the worst situation, the customer has no confidence as the experiences are unpredictable. Not to beat up on the airlines, but how confident can one be that a flight will be on time when the airline arrives on time only 75% of the time?
2. The Cult of Alignment – This is where the company has created a brand promise, or mantra, that lets employees and customers know what to expect. For example, Outback Steakhouse had a brand promise that was “Great Food, No Rules!”
3. The Cult of Experience – Even with a great brand promise, the customer may not have
confidence until that promise is experienced, sometimes numerous times.
4. The Cult of Ownership – Once the customer experiences the promise, and it is predictable,
the customer owns it. This is a powerful place to be.
5. The Cult of Amazement – This is the ultimate Cult. When the experience is predictable and
is consistently better than average, the company has risen beyond satisfactory. People may
think that “amazement” means a WOW experience. Yet it is simpler than that. It is confidence
in a consistently above average experience that puts companies into this Cult.
It is in the Cult of Amazement where customer loyalty really begins. Understanding the five
Cults, and where you and your company fit in, is the beginning of creating Amazement, which
leads to loyalty and eventually evangelism; when your customers are more than just loyal.
It’s when they rave about you to their friends and associates.
Which Cult are you in?
Here is your homework assignment. Find out more about these five Cults, and where you and
your company fits in by going to www.CultOfTheCustomer.com/forms and download (at no
cost) a checklist. Before you can know where you are going, you have to know where you
are.
(For more information on The Cult of the Customer, click here.)
Shep Hyken, CSP is a professional speaker and author who works with companies who want
to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on
Shep’s speaking presentations, including his customer service speaking programs, books, tapes
and learning programs please contact (314) 692-2200. Email: shep@hyken.com Web: www.
hyken.com
Copyright ©2009 by Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE and Shepard Presentations, LLC
High Tech Email Marketing – Your Formula For Success
By Travis Greenlee
Conventional marketing techniques such as ad campaigns and promotions are certainly quite effective, but since they can easily cost you a fortune, it’s recommended that you try other low-cost yet highly effective options that might be available. Now, there are many such options available, but if you want to get the best possible results, look no further than e-mail marketing and promotions that work well for both online and offline businesses. T
The best thing about e-mail marketing is that you are not required to have or develop any specific skills for using this relatively new marketing concept. All you have to do is write about your products or services, highlighting the main features, benefits, and other issues which you think will motivate potential customers’ to buy the product. It’s as easy as that.
