Customer Loyalty

I read an article recently in Executive Travel Magazine that spoke to the idea of why you should care about customer loyalty. It offered eight areas that you should look at when it comes to your customers.

Thinking about customer loyalty is not just a business owners concern but should be a concern of anyone that with people. It could be through your church, your civic organization and even you as an employee should care.

There is a discussion in the article Keeping The Customer, which gives you some points to ponder. It reveals the age-old business 80/20 rule is still valid, not only for business but for most any organization (volunteer or other). This rule says that 80% of your revenue (or volunteerism) is generated by 20% of your customers.

Keeping those 20% loyal and happy is important to the health of your organization. But think of the potential which exists within the other 80%. Don't neglect that other untapped area.

So how do we do this...build customer loyalty. The article provides the following 8 ways;

1. Develop employee loyalty first - customers can tell when your own employees are not happy.

2. Invite customer criticism - it may hurt, but you will learn quite a bit.

3. Increase responsiveness - don't let issues linger, the longer you wait, the more people will leave.

4. Work to win back lost customers - they may have left, but showing you want them and giving them reason to return will go a long way in winning customers back.

5. Equip your front line employees - give them the ability to make decisions, to get a answer up front for the customer.

6. Use multiple channels of service - offering various methods of contact; automated-phone, real-person phone, email, website all with the same level of service wins people over.

7. Protect your most loyal customers - that 80/20 rule, create enhanced service levels for those 20%, protecting your most loyal customers protects 80% of your revenue.

8. Observe your customer's buying behavior - how and why do customers come to you with there business or organization.

The author, Jill Griffin says the key rule of loyalty is, "serve your employees first, so they, in turn, can serve your customers." Loyalty doesn't happen in an instant, it builds over time. Very hard to earn but easy to lose.