r By Kevin R. Miller, CEO, VisionBound International
If you are in business, do you have loyal customers? Or merely satisfied ones? As a parent or friend, have you won other people’s loyalty? It is an intriguing question. On October 12, the Spanish Fork/Salem Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a half-day customer loyalty workshop called “Winning Loyal Customers: Customers Only Want Two Things.”
A few years ago, Jeffrey Gitomer wrote a book with an intriguing title: Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. His point is clear: competitors abound that have similar goods and services. To be truly successful you need to win loyalty, and it’s a much different animal.
Loyal customers do four things: They come back, they buy more, they refer their friends (perhaps the most important!) and they care enough to give you feedback. In short, they WANT you to stay in business. Winning customer loyalty is much harder than merely satisfying someone. I work around the world helping organizations create customer loyalty, and create a culture that wins staff loyalty. The two are very connected.
At the customer loyalty
workshop, you can learn the two things customers want: First, solve my problem, and second, leave me feeling GREAT about the experience. The first part will satisfy them, but they expect that. (I’m not going to run out of a grocery store yelling, “wow they had milk and eggs!) You win loyalty by how you leave people feeling. Maya Angelou famously said, “They may not remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.”
You will also get our deck of 33 Hot Tip Cards, each one containing one great idea on how to win loyalty. You will have fun going through the deck and choosing a few great ideas to start with.
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One business that has won my loyalty in Spanish Fork is Costco. The other day a cashier assistant named Julie told me, “Wow you look sharp today!” and the cashier, Austin, used my name twice and thanked me for coming in. I left with my problems solved and feeling great! Well done, Costco!
Stop and think about how you treat others for everyone is your customer…even your children or spouse or friends. When it all boils down, a customer is anyone you encounter who might have a problem or needs to feel special and important…and that’s just about everyone. Win their loyalty by leaving them feeling great just knowing you!
I hope to meet you on October 12th. Register today by calling the Chamber of Commerce at (801) 798-8352. Space will fill up fast.
