A satisfied customer is not a loyal customer by any means. I build brand and customer trust by being loyal to THEM and by NOT expecting them to be loyal to me!
How do I build customer loyalty? I earn loyalty by giving it. I do it one “D” at a time: Discover (what is important or of value to my customer), Decide (what their experience will look like), Deliver (what I set as their expectation) and Do It Again (it’s an ongoing process that changes and improves with feedback).
- (Discover) First of all, you need to discover what your target customers find to be of value and which of those values drive them into buying and even further into being loyal.
- (Decide) Decide what your customer experiences will look like. Brand your ideas internally. Figure out how to deliver what you promise to your customers
- (Deliver) Everyone in the organization is responsible for delivering these experiences. At EVERY encounter with every customer—EVERYONE!
- (Do It Again) Be willing to listen to customer feedback to improve the experiences. Listen to the employees when they have feedback. It’s an ongoing process that is never complete.
It truly is a process and each time you complete a transaction, you have more opportunity for feedback. With every bit of feedback, you have the opportunity to re-DISCOVER, re-DECIDE, and re-DELIVER your business to the next customer. With each experience you give, you get a new perspective on how you can make your business better. This cycle makes the DO IT AGAIN part very important!
Let me share a few statistics to support this point:
- 65% of your business comes from existing customers—over half of your business is repeat customers—or at least it should be.
- It costs 5 to 10 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.
- 91% of unhappy customers will never buy again from the company or person that they’re dissatisfied with
- 100% of your unhappy customers will voice their dissatisfaction to at least 7 other people
- 68% of them left not because of price or product but because of attitude or indifference on the part of their salesperson
For any of you who have read the book, Raving Fans, you know that you don’t have a loyal customer until you see them out there waving your flag—wearing nothing but their loyalty.
Loyalty has to be intentional and designed. YOU are responsible for creating memorable experiences for your customers. No one else is going to do it for you—except maybe your competition!
