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[…]
It’s one of those unfortunate, inevitable facts of life: every company and every employee will at some point have to deal with an angry customer. Whether their anger is warranted because of a bad situation, or whether they are just plain difficult, doesn’t matter. These days, companies must respond and deal with angry customers. If[…]
Last month General Motors announced a new compensation structure based on customer retention. The pay plan affects 29,000 salaried employees in the U.S., who will be paid bonuses based on how well they promote customer loyalty through return purchases and services. Third-party sales data and internal numbers will determine if a dealership hits its loyalty target. It’s nice[…]
People respond to what is relevant to their needs, desires and motivations. With the help of customer loyalty data, companies are learning about the behaviors of their customers and acting on that knowledge to identify their best and highest-potential customers and personalize their communications. They are beginning to understand how communicating with (not at) their customers in meaningful ways can encourage the[…]
Customer loyalty is a topic that is more important than ever, as technology has created more consumer fragmentation, as well as creating message and brand overwhelm. While it’s a critical strategic endeavor for every company, even some of the largest brands in the world make significant customer loyalty mistakes. As a small business, you may have[…]
The National Business Research Institute (NBRI) recently published an infographic detailing why customer loyalty is important, what customer loyalty is, the problem or disconnect between businesses and their customers, the solution for improving customer loyalty and the future of “customer delight.” “Customers are a business’ most important asset, without them the business wouldn’t exist. So it’s imperative to keep these customers happy and improve[…]
Most firms lack a 360 degree view of their customers because they have no centralized database. Billing departments, sales divisions and customer service centers might all have their own database, with no effective means for creating a complete customer information composite. To effectively implement a sound customer loyalty strategy, data from all customer touch points must[…]
Today Groupon launched the first phases of Groupon Rewards, a new platform that tries to provide businesses with a way to build customer loyalty. Groupon Rewards’ release comes amid concerns from merchants that Groupon customers demonstrate no loyalty to the businesses offering deals. What Groupon Rewards Does: Groupon users who spend a merchant-determined fixed amount (at that same merchant) can earn[…]
When attempting to improve customer retention, we often focus on incentives that will drive customer behavior to change: if we want to develop customer behavior X then we offer our customers incentive Y. And as we reward the behavior we want, the encouraged behavior will inevitably become more pronounced. What we frequently forget is that[…]
In a lagging economy, keeping your loyal customers loyal can become increasingly more challenging, but there is probably no other time when good customer loyalty is more vital to your business. Your loyal customers are your high-value clients, bringing in as much as 80% of your overall sales, according to Pareto’s principle (the 80-20 Rule). These customers will not leave you for your competitors based[…]