Building Customer Loyalty
The author, AK is in charge of sales and marketing at Sunshine Windows
Everyone has heard someone say “The customer always comes
first”, but how many people or businesses really practice what they preach. In today’s global marketplace, competition appears
to be stronger than ever before. Brick
and mortar stores, regardless of size, seem to face a never ending list of competition. As the online marketplace continues to grow,
internet giants like Amazon, E-Bay, and Alibaba continue to make the online customer
experience faster and more convenient than ever before. So how does the brick and mortar store
continue to grow its customer base amidst a rapidly expanding global
marketplace?
Consumers gravitate to stores for their products, but leave
them because of their service. Most
small businesses understand the importance of customer retention, but, as time
goes on, and businesses grow, the personalized attention they once gave their
customers, seems to get lost as owners, managers, and employees have less time
to spend focusing on the customer’s experience due to the finite amount of
resources available to them.
For a moment, imagine the best customer service experience
you’ve had. Maybe this took place at a
high end clothing store, a car dealership, a hotel or even a jewelry store. As a consumer, you were given the type of personalized
service that you needed, and, as a result, you were happy to give them your
business. In all likelihood, you may
have even gone back; not only once, but multiple times never considering
looking elsewhere because you were satisfied with the way you were treated.
In today’s world of instant gratification, the consumer has
an expectation that their needs are met quickly, and that problems be resolved rapidly
and correctly the first time. To retain a
customer’s loyalty, they need to feel like they received a customized
experience based on their needs.
In a study performed by American Express Survey in 2011, “78%
of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because
of a poor service experience”. The study
went on to show that 3 in 5 Americans (59%) would try a new brand or company
for a better service experience and that 7 in 10 Americans said they were
willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer
service.
You have probably already heard the statistics.
- It cost 5 times as much to acquire a customer than to keep one (Forrester).
- Reduce churn by 5 percent and increase profits up to 125 percent (Leading on the Edge of Chaos).
- 70 percent of churn is attributable to poor customer experience (Forum Corporate Research).
So, instead of focusing on attracting new customers,
businesses should focus on valuing their existing customers, and should treat
them as though creating one bad customer experience could be the stone that
starts the avalanche that puts them out of business.
Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on finding new
customers, focus on building a customer experience that creates brand advocates. Your new advocate will take you much further
than a post card, a magazine ad, or, for the old school guys, a page in the
yellow pages. They will bring you new
customers through word of mouth, facebook, linkedin, and, yes, even Yelp. Better yet, they will bring recurring
business year after year.
So where do you
start?
Create the Experience
Start with how you treat the customer. Find out what your customers find important
and focus on that. A price is just a price. Yes, you have to be in the ballpark, but don’t
worry about being the cheapest price.
Trust me, someone can always beat your price, but it will be much harder
to beat the relationship you have developed.
Be Consistent
Make sure that the customer knows and understands that you
will provide a quality customer experience consistently. Decipher what needs your customers have, and focus
on consistently meeting those needs every time.
Communicate
You aren’t always going to be able to handle every request immediately. If you can’t take care of your customer right
away, let them know that you are working on it and keep them updated of your
progress.
Take Responsibility
Mistakes happen! As a
musician, I was once told “You’re going to make mistakes. It’s not about the mistake. It’s about the recovery”. So when a problem comes up, take
accountability, and take action! Make
sure the customer knows you will do whatever it takes to make sure they are
taken care of.
