Articles are continuously being written in hopes of dissecting and duplicating the Apple Store experience for other businesses. I’ve even seen sessions at industry conferences that revolve around how to duplicate this in car dealerships. While I agree that it should be every dealership’s goal to achieve the level of loyalty that Apple has, an[…]
A new benchmark report published last month by RSR Research, provides some interesting information about retailers and the shifts in focus and importance from 2012 to 2013. According to the study, 61 percent of retailers feel customer retention has become more difficult, and building loyalty has become more challenging. This is a 10 percent increase from 2012. The study[…]
As football season approaches, I am reminded of a story that was widely publicized last spring. Joe Flacco, having just signed a $121 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens which made him the highest-paid player in the NFL, decided to celebrate by going to McDonald’s. Why would a man who could obviously afford to celebrate anywhere choose[…]
Remarkable companies always follow up with their customers. Why? It helps them learn more about their fans, catches negative feedback before it hits the fan, and inspires word of mouth. (Plus, it’s just nice.) Here are three great ways to do it: 1. With a courtesy call 2. With a video message 3. With a congratulation[…]
Frequent travelers have many choices when choosing airlines. Some choose an airline for their frequent flier benefits, some for their convenient routes or frequent itineraries and some have airlines chosen for them by their companies. For many years, Delta Airlines has been at or near the bottom of almost every survey conducted regarding airline customer[…]
Today’s customers are smarter, better informed and more intolerant of being “sold” than ever before. They expect doing business with you to be as hassle-free and gratifying for them as possible. When they experience good service elsewhere, they bring an if-they-can-do-it-why-can’t-you? attitude to their next transaction with you. They believe you earn their business with service[…]
Research shows that responsiveness is closely tied to a customer’s perception of good service. The advent of the internet, particularly social media platforms, has changed the customer’s perception of responsiveness. More and more, customers are coming to expect round-the-clock customer service. Additionally, customers now arrive at a website time-starved and eager to locate answers. Technology tools such as[…]
For most companies, only 10 percent of complaints are ever articulated by customers. The other 90 percent are unarticulated and manifest themselves in many negative ways: unpaid invoices; lack of courtesy to your front line service reps; and above all, negative word of mouth. With the internet, especially social media, an unhappy customer can now reach thousands[…]
The loyalty password is value. Knowing how your customer experiences value and then delivering on those terms is critical to building strong customer loyalty. But knowing your customer’s true definition of value is not easy because value definitions are constantly changing. Invest in customer loyalty research that enables you to understand, through the eyes of the customer, how well you[…]
Few brands have created worldwide impact as significant as Disney. Just mentioning “Disney” elicits smiles from kids – and kids at heart – in virtually every nation. So how do they do it? Last month the Cincinnati Business Courier hosted a seminar called “Disney’s Approach to Brand Loyalty.” Featuring representatives from the Disney Institute, the seminar highlighted time-tested[…]