Loyalty Countdown #2 – Practice the 80/20 Rule

in May 04, 2018

In building customer loyalty, the 80/20 rule is alive and well. Roughly speaking, 80 percent of your revenue is being generated by 20 percent of your customers. All customers are not created equal. Some represent more long-term value to your firm than others. A smart company segments customers by value and monitors activities closely to ensure high value customers get their[…]

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Loyalty Countdown #1 – Build Staff Loyalty

in May 04, 2018

It’s a fact: any firm with a high level of customer loyalty has also earned a high level of staff loyalty. It’s darn near impossible to build strong customer loyalty with a staff that is in constant turnover. Why? Because customers buy relationships and familiarity. They want to buy from people who know them and their preferences. The key[…]

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Loyalty Countdown #3 – Know Your Loyalty Stages & Ensure Your Customers Are Moving Through Them

in May 02, 2018

A customer becomes loyal to a company and its products and service on step at a time. By understanding the customer’s current loyalty stage, you can better determine what’s necessary to move that customer to the next level of loyalty. Our “Growing Loyal Customers” system comprises six stages: suspect, prospect, first-time customer, repeat customer, client and[…]

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Loyalty Countdown #4 – Serve First; Sell Second

in Apr 30, 2018

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[…]

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Loyalty Countdown #6 – Get Responsive & Stay That Way

in Apr 27, 2018

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[…]

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Loyalty Countdown #9 – Use Multiple Channels to Serve the Same Customers Well

in Apr 16, 2018

Research suggests customers who engage with a firm through multiple channels exhibit deeper loyalty than single-channel customers. But take note: this finding assumes the customer gets the same consistent service whether coming into the store, logging onto the website or calling the service center. To accomplish this, your firm must internally coordinate sales and service across multiple[…]

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Loyalty Countdown #12 – Store Your Data In One Centralized Database

in Apr 13, 2018

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[…]

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