Keep Your Customers Coming Back

So you have satisfied customers. So what. "What do you mean, so what! We work very hard to achieve customer satisfaction - we're very proud of it." Yes, no dispute that customer satisfaction is critical in the twenty first century, your company won't survive without it - it's what customers now expect. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about customer loyalty. "What's the difference?" you say. Plenty. Customer satisfaction is sending a happy customer OUT of your business; customer loyalty is bringing a happy customer BACK to your business. They are very different events. We've all read the research that shows 96% of customers with a problem will never complain (if they complained you'd have a chance to fix the problem and retain the customer), and the stories of customer focused organisations that enjoy explosive growth by giving you a discount if the phone rings more than five times. All good stuff, and valid then. This is today. Today's satisfied customer is tomorrow's competitor's satisfied customer. Unless you know how to keep them. We made some assumptions about our customers in the service frenzy of the 80's and 90's. Those assumptions are: The level of service we decided to give our customers is what they actually wanted The level of service we're giving will create customer satisfaction High levels of customer satisfaction generates repeat business Let's look at these three areas. Who says the level of service that your organisation gives its customers is what they actually want? Has anyone ever asked them? That may sound a little too obvious, and it's surprising how many companies never bother to ask their customers what they expect. Has your company ever formally asked its customers? By using the services of a market research company to survey them you will learn things you could never learn by asking them personally. Market researchers are impartial, and are seen to be so. The answers can be eye opening. The second issue - the level of service we're giving will create customer satisfaction. Who says? The customer? They're the only ones who matter. Ask them. Then the third myth. High levels of customer satisfaction generates repeat business. Unless a customer is given very good reasons to return to do business with you again, all the customer satisfaction in the world won't bring them back. So how do you keep your customers coming back? Assuming your products and services are good value for money, here's the key. MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER FEEL SPECIAL. Make them feel they are the most important customer you've got. Yes, every one of them - individually. Do the unexpected. As customers, we get blas