How Loyal Are Your Customers? Building Better Customer Relationships

‘Designing Strategies’ eNewsletter

July – August 2008 Volume 5 l– Issue 23

Do you assume that because some of your customers come back to you that they trust you and can be considered loyal customers? Do they trust you to do what is in their best interests and meet their needs? Are you sure? My husband recently returned from a week of leadership training at the Disney Institute in Orlando. Prior to their arrival, the folks at Disney did a pre-training survey of this Fortune 500 company’s customers.

Until they arrived at the Disney Institute, the training participants were pretty sure of their company when it came to loyal, long term customers. Let’s just say that everyone in the training session was surprised…no, shocked, is a better term… to learn that some of their best customers stated that if there were another option available to them, they would leave. Hmm… Just how loyal are your customers?

WOW! Talk about your eye-opening experience. What do you think your response would be if you
were asked this question about your customers? How loyal are your customers to your company? Would you be confident that you are serving them at a level that would keep them coming back time after time to purchase your products and services? Or, would you be just as surprised to hear that all it would take for your best customers to jump ship would be an alternative resource?

Time to Find Out – How Loyal Are Your Customers?

Like it or not, today’s markets are controlled by the consumer. Like it or not, customers are the ones in the driver’s seat. Access to global suppliers through the Internet has given them a much wider choice of manufacturers and distributors to choose from. And, the availability of an unending supply of products they might never have known about five to ten years ago.

Have you talked to your customers lately? You know, picked up the phone and called to ask how satisfied they are with your company, your products and your customer service? It’s pretty important information to know, don’t you think? Have you contracted to do a survey of your important customers? If not, why not? You need to know something like how loyal your customers are?

Customer Loyalty Is Critical to Continued Success.

Today, more than ever before, it is imperative to stay in close contact with your customers. With so many viable options for them to choose from, you could lose a long standing client and account over what may seem trivial to you, but important to them. Dissatisfaction can be as little as your firm not promptly responding to a phone call or e-mail. Perhaps your staff takes too long to solve a quality control issue. Poof, that once loyal customer has moved on, taking his money to another supplier.

How do you intend to address this potential problem? Hopefully, not by sitting back, waiting to hear about it after a valued customer has taken their business elsewhere. You need to be proactive and develop a plan for engaging your customers, both large and small.

Set aside time to make calls to your most valued customers. Set up a survey to gather feedback directly from your top clients. Ask how they view your products and services. Find out what their level of satisfaction is, and how you can do a better job of serving them. Take a survey of smaller customers too. Gauge their satisfaction level and how you can grow your business with them. NOW is the time to plan for moving your organization to a higher level of customer satisfaction. Remember: it is much less expensive and easier to keep a good customer than go recruit a new one.

Continuing Education Opportunities!

Looking for a way to bring customers into your showroom, or attract new customers? Educational programs could be your answer. I would be pleased to present one of my continuing education programs for the small business audience you want to attract. Business topics range from personal branding, starting and growing a business, to charging fees based on value. Other popular topics focus on generational diversity. Favorites are designing for the generations, market and sell to the generations, and recruit and retain an age-diverse workforce.