---

Guest post by: Joyce Gioia Become an Author

Tweet

---

---

The recent prolonged economic downturn has shifted consumer values---for both external and internal customers. In a drastic change from its 2008 findings, Colloquy's 2010 Retail Loyalty Index found that low prices have replaced customer service as the top driver of customer loyalty. Not surprisingly, lowest-priced Walmart emerged as the dominant retailer in many categories---reflecting a reality of the Great Recession. Costco, known for great service and the dominant 2008-index retailer, had the highest customer loyalty ratings in three out of five of the Mass Merchant regional categories.

Regionally in the Grocery Sector, Kroger in the Midwest, Publix in the Southeast, and H-E-B in the Southwest all bested Walmart. These chains offer low prices and higher levels of customer service. (From experience, we can tell you that H-E-B is simply the best-run supermarket chain with the highest levels of customer service we have encountered anywhere; their long employee tenure and high employee engagement are the reasons.)

In other survey results released recently by Accountemps, 46 percent of CFOs surveyed said "bonuses were the most effective way to acknowledge a job well done; only 21 said time off was the best way. Other types of rewards deemed popular were departmental gatherings (15 percent) and tickets to events (4 percent).

"When resources are limited, rewarding staff with extra time off . . . or a department celebration. . ., can help boost spirits and motivate teams," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps.

(Better yet, we suggest when financial resources are not available, ask employees for their best no-cost ideas. We have seen some amazing results from this facilitation.)

We suspect these same attitudes are present around the world. When money is tight, cash is king. As economies slowly recover, we expect to see a shift back to the importance of customer service and time off for external and internal customers respectively. However, as you read in last week's Herman Trend Alert, we expect India, Brazil, and Costa Rica to lead the way.

Related Articles

  Leadership Parable
  How Many Ways Can You Calculate 2010?
  Parable on Leadership Wisdom
  Wendys to Unseat Burger King as #2 Burger Brand in America
  It\'s good to be king
  Be the Change You Need to Be to Increase Sales
  Money & the Meaning of Life (Part 2)
  Orchard survey shows that CEOs expect business climate to improve in 2010
  What Are the Top 10 Franchise Opportunities?
  WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL MODEL FOR THE YEAR 2010?
  If I Were King
  Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions
  Want to do something different?
  Popular Franchise Companies
  QuickBooks 2010 - Download This Product Update (R5) for Less Intrusive Marketing
  Understanding the Differences Between QuickBooks Upgrades and QuickBooks Updates
  FRANCHINSING - ARE YOU READY TO GROW - ELEMENT 1
  Smart Women Have Dreams Too!
  Three Simple Ways to Make Money on the Internet in 2010
  Is the pathway clear?

Related Forum Posts

Making Money in 2011
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas!
Re: Which would you start: a Blog or Online Community?
QuickBooks vs. Microsoft Money vs....?
Re: Panda algorithm update 3.9

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Maximum Impact Restaurant Greening

You Can Have It All....Just Not All At Once!

Marketing Letters that Open Doors

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.