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Loyal Customers Build Sales
Written by: James Salter IIArticle Overview: Having satisfied customers is no guarantee of improved business results. Satisfaction is a passive state: a willingness to stay until something better comes along. Loyalty is a long-term commitment to the brand or organization and is linked to share-of-wallet and retention. Identifying and measuring what’s important to the customer and improving your company’s performance on those critical issues is a proven way to build revenue and retain customers.
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Loyal Customers Build Sales
In difficult economic times, or any time, building customer loyalty is the best way to build sales. A January 2009 survey by Sterling Commerce found that 58 percent of the people polled said that, considering recent economic conditions, in the past three months they have made a conscious effort to limit shopping to businesses where they felt a sense of loyalty.
It is important to understand the difference between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Having satisfied customers is no guarantee of improved business results. The literature is full of examples of companies that had highly satisfied customers and were losing market share rapidly. That's because satisfaction is a passive state: a willingness to stay until something better comes along. Unlike satisfaction, loyalty is a long-term commitment to the brand or organization and is linked to share-of-wallet and retention.
How do you build loyalty? Start by listening to your customers. Many companies pay lip service to The Customer is King. But the sad fact is that these same companies just do not pay attention to what the King really wants. The typical sales model is focused on selling a product or service, but often neglects other customer needs and requirements that make up the total customer experience. Loyalty and increased sales are driven by the customer experience with all the touch points encountered in dealing with a company
Listen to the Voice of the Customer
That means you have to let the customer tell you what is important to them and how you are performing relative to your competition on what is important. This kind of information does not just bubble up during a regular sales call. It needs to be developed and analyzed in a structured way.
There are many ways to bring the voice of the customer into your organization. It can be as simple as setting up a special meeting with a customer to discuss an outlined series of questions and answers on a one-to-one basis. Or it can be as complex as qualitative research to identify issues, followed a quantitative survey of customers to measure relative importance and competitive performance, and analysis of results to identify key drivers of loyalty and retention.
Regardless of the way your organization chooses to listen to its customers, the investment is a waste of time and money unless the information is actually used to improve loyalty. That means that customer requirements need to be incorporated into the performance metrics of all the functional areas involved and reflected in the daily management and operations of the company. It requires management leadership and cross-functional cooperation.
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Article Tags: building customer loyalty, business results, conscious effort, customer experience, customer needs, customer satisfaction, economic conditions, economic times, increased sales, lip service, market share, passive state, sad fact, sales model, satisfied customers, share of wallet, sterling commerce, term commitment, typical sales, voice of the customer
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LEADERS
- L- Loyal
E- Eager to learn and serve
A- Active
D- Delegate
E- Efficient
R- Reliable
S- Smart
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional
- Hi Evan,
I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT
- Hi David,
To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience".
Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional
- [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan,
I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz]
I second the request...
Re: Great start, but no finish
- My advise is FOCUS on your business.
Focusing is the main factor to succeed on business. If you have a great idea, then follow it only, don't look anywhere else. It is especially essential in an online business. Because there are a lot of mind blowing sales letters promising millions dolllars or overnight success, people find it difficult to concentrate on one business and they lose their energy.
Concept is simple.
1- Have a good idea;
2- Build your business on it;
3- Monetize your business;
4- Promote it;
5- Build list of responsive customers;
6- Maintain You Business.
Focusing and not fearing from competition (instead you can learn from competitiors) are main tips of billionaires ,BTW.
Orxan
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