January 16, 2007

How to Earn Customer Loyalty   "I'm never going back to that...again!"  Store, restaurant, doctor, dentist, mechanic.  You fill in the blank.  Chances are you've said those words to yourself and then told one hundred other people.  You might have been satisfied at one time, but you weren't loyal enough to stay.  What happened?   "Satisfaction is no longer the acceptable standard of customer service.  Satisfaction is no longer the acceptable measurement of customer service success.  The standard and measure of success for the next millennium is loyal customers," says Jeffrey Gitomer in his book Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless.   What is a loyal customer?  "One who will create positive word-of-mouth advertising about you, refer other people to do business with you, and fight before they switch from you to a competitor," Gitomer says.   He continues.  "Customer loyalty is based on the quality of your relationship.  At the time of the need for re-order, the customer will make a judgment about the quality of the relationship FIRST!"   Loyalty does not happen overnight.  It takes time to evolve and time to nurture the relationship so that the end result is you are first on the mind of your customer when it is time for them to buy again.  Whether it is their annual physical, a birthday celebration at a restaurant, their six month recare visit to the dentist, or a routine oil change, you are the only one they call.  Are you?   Gitomer offers these tips to build loyalty: Be unusual where usual is expected.  Stop being boring and instead, create an atmosphere of WOW. Be memorable (in a positive way) in the eyes of the customer.  How do you stand out from the crowd? Get to know and understand your customers so that you can help give them what they want.  Start out as the friendliest, happiest, most important person in the world.  The same for your employees.  You know how you feel when you buy from a friendly place. Why should it be any different in your business? Stay communicating with them after the sale.  Send postcards, a personalized note, e-mails, newsletters, and/or make a personal telephone call. Speaking of the telephone, answer it in a memorable way.  Avoid the depersonalized automated systems. Offer value without any expectation of receiving anything in return.  Offer service beyond the sale.  What else can you do for your customer that no one else is doing?    You can make these tips more pertinent to your business.  Gitomer says to try this:   "First, ask your 10 best customers what makes them stay with you so you can better understand what makes a customer loyal.  Then, think about the people and suppliers that YOU are loyal to.  Write down what makes you that way.  You will be surprised to find that the answers are similar.  Incorporate the loyalty actions that you found in your top 10 customers into your everyday job actions."   What action steps will you take to increase customer loyalty in your business?            "You don't earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day-by-day."             Jeffrey Gitomer   "Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart-the center of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it-and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal."             Maurice Franks   "Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life."             Napoleon Hill   To read the "Patient Loyalty" article, authored by me, in the December/January Consultant's Corner for Kodak Dental please click here.        True blue.  Loyal to a T.  Faithful.   What makes me loyal to someone?  We have a mutually satisfying relationship.  They listen to me, give me the time of day and not the rush treatment, appreciate me, care about me, are upbeat, they accept responsibility for their actions, they correct problems without hesitation, and are professional.  Most importantly, I feel good when I do business with them.    I am quick to give someone a second or third chance and maybe more, but when I get dumped on I know it's time to leave. I admit I go places for convenience sake, but I can also leave if it becomes inconvenient, so I guess that means I wasn't all that loyal in the first place.  I will drive out of my way and long distances, though, to go somewhere I am loyal to.    Sometimes, you just want a change and want to test the waters somewhere else, and that's OK.  You've heard the saying, "the grass is greener on the other side".  Sometimes it is and sometimes it's not.   On a lighter note, I'm loyal to several television programs which start their new seasons this week.  I am a big fan of 24 and Kiefer Sutherland and then there's American Idol.  My Tivo is set!   Have a fantastic week and earn your customer's loyalty.   Stephanie        We grow by "word-of-email" so please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone whom you think might benefit from and enjoy it. Thanks so much! Contact Us: stephanie@7steps2abalancedlife.com