One of my favorite movies of all time is “Spinal Tap”.  It’s a classic.  People remember it, even though it was filmed 20 years ago.  Lines are quoted, songs are hummed, and people have parties dedicated to it.  I can quote nearly every line of the movie.   Not a great movie, by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s one of the move beloved films of all time. Turns out, you can learn a bunch about Customer Loyalty from the movie.  I’m not kidding, check it out: There’s a fine line between stupid and clever.  Don’t be afraid to try new things in your loyalty program.  New promotions, different types of bonus point awards, and referral bonuses may be just the trick.  You don’t know what’s really stupid and what’s clever until you try it out, so go for it. An 18 inch Stonehenge monument tends to understate the hugeness of the overall presentation. This w...

I like Facebook. It’s a nice place to check up on my friends, and see what’s going on that day.  I also check Twitter occasionally. Social Media is a great way to share pictures and news pertinent to me, but there’s one thing I don’t go on these sites for, and that’s to be sold on something.   I recently read a blog post on Hanafin Loyalty’s website, titled ‘An Open Letter to Millennials’ (you can find that blog post here), where the author asks Millennial consumers how they prefer to be contacted about products. My answer to him? I don’t. At least not over social media outlets.   I know I might be burned at the stake for my opinions on social media advertising, but this post interested me. I am a big fan of traditional advertising, and the primary reason for that is because it isn’t as intrusive as new media.   One part of that blog that caught me was when the author asked about connecting wi...

Building customer loyalty comes down to one thing: Delighting customers. As I discussed in my last blog, we begin to delight customers by The Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. At the re:member group, we know that a systematic approach to building customer loyalty works. Our Dealership programs yield an increase of service revenue by as much as 39 percent among Members and have increased sales by 7.5 percent. But I’ll be the first to admit that our Loyalty Marketing Solutions are simply a tool, and successful only in companies that are dedicated to building customer loyalty by treating customers the way they want to be treated. This starts with hiring the right people. This is so important, it bears repeating: If you want to build customer loyalty, hire the right people. Your staff has the power to earn the enthusiastic loyalty of your customers by creating economically rational ways to delight them. Delighting customers means putting kindness and int...

  If you’ve ever worked in retail sales, electronics or otherwise, you’ve probably seen my type walk through your store doors. The type who knows what they want, and will spend as little effort and time to get that product, before abruptly leaving. When I need to get something at an electronics store (maybe an auxiliary cable or that new video game I shouldn’t be wasting my money on), I head right for the item I need, grab it, and get out of the store as soon as I can.    For lack of a better term at the moment, I would call these your ‘hit-and-run’ customers, and they can be a challenge to sell on anything but their needed product. I’m not like that all the time, and many times I leave stores wondering why I wasn’t asked for assistance. This happens particularly in bigger purchases that require thought about future benefits the product will give me.   I recently bought a new stereo from a big-box electronics sto...

Net Promoter has been effectively used in all sorts of businesses, including small start-up companies. In fact, we’re so convinced that the Net Promoter system works, we use it ourselves (we welcome you to take our survey to let us know how likely you are to recommend re:member group).  The main premise of Net Promoter stems from the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Yesterday’s Blog Post focused on asking customers one question: “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?” This is one of the main premises of understanding Net Promoters, in that you must develop a systematic way to categorize customers into promoters, passives and detractors. However, to get the true picture of how your customers want to be treated, we insist you ask an additional question: “Why?” In addition to asking the "Likely to Recommend" question, a good Net Promoter su...

The Ultimate Question and the One Number You Need To Grow If you are asking whether customers are satisfied with your service—you’re asking the wrong question.  If you are measuring and trying to increase your customer satisfaction—you’re measuring the wrong thing. Eighty percent of satisfied customers will still shop around to your competitors.  So don’t grow your number of satisfied customers. Grow your fan base. Measuring your fan base is quite easy, and is determined by asking one simple question: “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?” This one question, when measured properly, offers a more accurate way of gauging customers’ real loyalty to a company, instead of mere satisfaction in the services it provides. Because really, what is the ultimate act of loyalty, but to place one’s reputation on the line and recommend a company to someone else? Now that you’ve got...

  Rolling through the desert at 8pm, we see the first lights. More appear in the distance, and soon the entire landscape is coated in the glow of hotel and casino lights.   “It looks like a bar of gold,” my co-pilot on this trip marveled. “Just a ridiculous amount of life surrounded by the desert.”   We were heading into Las Vegas for the NADA Convention, and this was an awesome welcome to the city for us. Much like those lights, the convention energized me (despite the 1,600+ mile drive we had just endured). I love the constant hustle and bustle conventions have, with the ability to meet with prospects face-to-face, and talk with them about my products.   We spent much of our time in Vegas working on the convention details, and figuring out how to best communicate our programs to those interested. I love discussing our programs, but it’s so different when the listener is standing right in front of you. It...

  When I think about making a purchase of any kind (aside from my post-workout fast food meal – don’t judge me), I look first for the benefit the item will get me right away, and then I think of what I get from it down the road. For example, I like to get coffee at my local gas station. I bought a travel mug from the gas station a few months back, and since I bought that mug, I get a discount on coffee, as well as one free coffee with every six fill-ups. I go fairly often, and can find out online how close I am to getting another free coffee. The thing is, I could get coffee at any of the other gas stations in my area. The fact that I pass up the other guys is to earn my free refill. This gas station found a great way to entice me with a sweet looking mug, and they keep me coming back to earn that free refill. It’s not a big offering for the gas station, but for me, the customer, I love it. I earned that free mug of coffee, and I’m coming bac...

  I've posted a few articles on this site, touting the benefits of customer loyalty, and the ways dealerships can use these programs to prompt interaction with their clients.   I was reading this article at CNBC.com, and felt I needed to share this. Here are a few ways you can damage your relationship with your loyal customers.  (I did not write this, Carol Roth of CNBC.com did.) ----- 3 Ways To Get Customer Loyalty Wrong   Guest columnist Carol Roth explains three things business owners might overlook when they are trying to build customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is a topic that is more important than ever, as technology has created more consumer fragmentation, as well as creating message and brand overwhelm. While it’s a critical strategic endeavor for every company, even some of the largest brands in the world make significant customer loyalty mistakes. As a small business, you may have even more at stake. Here are three key ways...

“Customers really don’t become customers until they have bought from you at least twice. The first time they buy, they are merely visitors looking for the value in what you offer.” One of our current clients, Frank Leta in St. Louis, understands those words. They have been very successful and very deliberate when it comes to attracting – and retaining – customers. Check out a commercial spot to see one of the reasons why

  Good morning, I wanted to share an article written by Paul Long, explaining the way companies can express their appreciation to their customers, and how inexpensive it can be. Take a look, and see how you can thank your loyal customers in an easy and effective way. ---- ‘Putting a Lid on Loyalty – Little Things Can Mean a Lot’   Since we are in the business of loyalty marketing – and indeed it is our only business – we are constantly on the lookout for best practices and case studies about how businesses or organizations are rewarding their customers and how the business in turn earns its own reward. We recently came across a post dated January 9 on a blogsite called B-A-M, a.k.a. Bust a Myth: Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World. A woman by the name of Mary Jane Grinstead writes about her husband, a lifelong Chicago Cubs baseball fan, and more to the point, a Cubs season ticket holder for the past couple of d...

  Good afternoon,   I wanted to share another blog post Paul Long wrote, in regards to the value customers find in staying loyal to your brand.  Have a look, and see what your customers may be thinking when they walk into your dealership. ----- What do I get for staying loyal to your organization?   Have you ever heard that?  Maybe, maybe not.  But customers are thinking it all the time.  Shrewd customers can quickly tally a Pros/Cons list in their heads, and determine why they should do business with you instead of your competition. The good ones will even calculate the Value Proposition.   The Customer Value Proposition is an important piece to the puzzle which is your loyalty initiative.  If the Customer sees no Value in your Proposition for doing business together, they will shop elsewhere.  However, if they see a strong payback, they will likely stay loyal, or at least consider the cost for defecting...

Ok, we admit, the subject line is a bit high-minded. And that's not a bit surprising considering the source of it is Dr. Emmett Murphy, New York Times best-selling author of  "Leading on the Edge of Chaos: The 10 Critical Elements for Success ...."  We get the main point though: the customer is the foundation of your organization's success. Given today's environment of rapid, unpredictable, constant and chaotic change, "no force is more grounding and stabilizing than a partnership with customers." (again Dr. Murphy)   Creating a partnership with customers can help your organization maintain the focus you need to make good decisions and harness ...