“The customer is always right.” was coined and made famous by retailers including Selfridges and Marshall Field’s (now Macy’s) around the turn of the 20th century. It’s a phrase that most of our parents and grandparents had ingrained into their brains as children, and yet it somehow appears to have been lost in translation among the generations – and businesses – born within the last 20 to 30 years.

We are all human and we all make mistakes – businesses and customers alike, but if you want to strengthen the relationships you have with your customers and keep them loyal, then knowing exactly who is right and who is wrong doesn’t matter in most situations. The important thing to focus on is that the customer always deserves to be treated right and with a professional respect and courtesy.

As a business, you must decide where that line is going to be drawn, and then be consistent. When a customer crosses the “unacceptable behavior” line, your concern should not be for the customer so much as for your employee and your business. The Customer Service Point article explains that “when a customer actually does cross the line, you can tell them that you no longer want their business. And at that point, they cease to have the right to be right.

“The customer is always right. But not all customers need to stay customers.”

Do you think the saying, “The customer is always right” is still important for businesses today? Why? Why not?

Source: Excerpted from DrivingRetention.com and The Customer Service Point, February 2012.

“The customer is always right.” was coined and made famous by retailers including Selfridges and Marshall Field’s (now Macy’s) around the turn of the 20th century. It’s a phrase that most of our parents and grandparents had ingrained into their brains as children, and yet it somehow appears to have been lost in translation among the generations – and businesses – born within the last 20 to 30 years.

We are all human and we all make mistakes – businesses and customers alike, but if you want to strengthen the relationships you have with your customers and keep them loyal, then knowing exactly who is right and who is wrong doesn’t matter in most situations. The important thing to focus on is that the customer always deserves to be treated right and with a professional respect and courtesy.

As a business, you must decide where that line is going to be drawn, and then be consistent. When a customer crosses the “unacceptable behavior” line, your concern should not be for the customer so much as for your employee and your business. The Customer Service Point article explains that “when a customer actually does cross the line, you can tell them that you no longer want their business. And at that point, they cease to have the right to be right.

“The customer is always right. But not all customers need to stay customers.”

Do you think the saying, “The customer is always right” is still important for businesses today? Why? Why not?

Source: Excerpted from DrivingRetention.com and The Customer Service Point, February 2012.

In a recent article on Forbes.com, “The Final Frontier: Customer Expectations,” Robert Passikoff points to a shift in the past 15 years: customer expectations have increased significantly, rising 24 percent in all categories. After explaining how customer loyalty is measured and providing an example from the wireless carrier industry, Passikoff concludes, “…brands that are able to better meet – even exceed – growing customer expectations always end up on the top of the list.”

Tying customer loyalty scores to customer expectations is not the answer. Why? Loyalty scores are important, but they don’t take into account all the reasons customers stick with a company. The “how well” question is the field of loyalty. The “if/if not solved” is the field of performance.

Until we come up with a “complacency” or “frustrated and stuck” index and begin dissecting truly loyal, enthusiastic consumers from those who don’t have the time or resources to navigate the breaking of a contract, loyalty is one metric – but not the most important metric we can fully trust to drive improvements in customer experience and organization performance.

What is more important: exceeding customer expectations or solving customers’ problems?

Source: Driving Retention and Business2Community.com, February, 2012. Author, Linda Ireland.

In a recent article on Forbes.com, “The Final Frontier: Customer Expectations,” Robert Passikoff points to a shift in the past 15 years: customer expectations have increased significantly, rising 24 percent in all categories. After explaining how customer loyalty is measured and providing an example from the wireless carrier industry, Passikoff concludes, “…brands that are able to better meet – even exceed – growing customer expectations always end up on the top of the list.”

Tying customer loyalty scores to customer expectations is not the answer. Why? Loyalty scores are important, but they don’t take into account all the reasons customers stick with a company. The “how well” question is the field of loyalty. The “if/if not solved” is the field of performance.

Until we come up with a “complacency” or “frustrated and stuck” index and begin dissecting truly loyal, enthusiastic consumers from those who don’t have the time or resources to navigate the breaking of a contract, loyalty is one metric – but not the most important metric we can fully trust to drive improvements in customer experience and organization performance.

What is more important: exceeding customer expectations or solving customers’ problems?

Source: Driving Retention and Business2Community.com, February, 2012. Author, Linda Ireland.

Developing meaningful relationships with clients requires you to connect with them on a personal level. The more you know about a customer, the easier it is to sell them services and/or products that meet their individual needs. It also helps you determine which type of marketing the customer will be most receptive to.

Effectively engaging customers through direct marketing channels hinges on several key principles:

1. Start with the customer data.

Knowing how customers have responded to communications in the past allows you to better target them with your next communications. Use data to tailor your marketing to fit the individual needs of your customers.

2. Recognize and reward your best customers.

If your redemption rates are low, you are not giving the customers what they truly want or need. Find out what customers want and tailor your rewards accordingly.

3. Remain communication channel agnostic.

Combine the information you receive from customer data and your personal knowledge of the customer to choose the right communications channel. The best channels to use are the ones that are most effective.

How have you used your customer loyalty data to better target and reward your best customers?

Source: Excerpted from DrivingRetention.com and Direct Marketing Guide magazine, January 2012.

Developing meaningful relationships with clients requires you to connect with them on a personal level. The more you know about a customer, the easier it is to sell them services and/or products that meet their individual needs. It also helps you determine which type of marketing the customer will be most receptive to.

Effectively engaging customers through direct marketing channels hinges on several key principles:

1. Start with the customer data.

Knowing how customers have responded to communications in the past allows you to better target them with your next communications. Use data to tailor your marketing to fit the individual needs of your customers.

2. Recognize and reward your best customers.

If your redemption rates are low, you are not giving the customers what they truly want or need. Find out what customers want and tailor your rewards accordingly.

3. Remain communication channel agnostic.

Combine the information you receive from customer data and your personal knowledge of the customer to choose the right communications channel. The best channels to use are the ones that are most effective.

How have you used your customer loyalty data to better target and reward your best customers?

Source: Excerpted from DrivingRetention.com and Direct Marketing Guide magazine, January 2012.

In last week’s posting, we began counting down the top 12 strategies for building a successful customer loyalty program in 2012. In part 2 of this series, condensed from Driving Retention and from Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It How to Keep It by Jill Griffin, we continue our countdown of the top 12 action steps you can take to implement a customer loyalty program.

#6: Get Responsive and Stay That Way. More and more, customers are coming to expect round-the-clock customer service. Review all customer touch points and identify any area that produces a responsiveness bottleneck. Prioritize these areas, with highest priority given to those affecting the most customers.

#5: Aggressively Seek Out Customer Complaints. 90% of customer complaints are unarticulated and manifest themselves in negative ways: unpaid invoices; lack of courtesy to your front line service reps; and above all, negative word of mouth. With social media, an unhappy customer can now reach thousands of your would-be customers in a few keystrokes. Head off bad press before it happens. Make it easy for customers to complain, and treat complaints seriously.

#4: Serve First, Sell Second. Today’s customers are smarter, better informed and more intolerant of being “sold” than ever before. They expect doing business with you to be as hassle-free and gratifying for them as possible. They believe you earn their business with service that is pleasant, productive and personalized; if you don’t deliver, they’ll leave.

#3: Know Your Loyalty Stages and Ensure Your Customers Are Moving Though Them. A loyal customer cannot be created overnight; they become loyal to a company one step at a time. By understanding the customer’s current loyalty stage, you can better determine what’s necessary to move that customer to the next level of loyalty.

#2: Practice the 80/20 Rule. All customers are not created equal. When it comes to customer loyalty, the 80/20 rule is alive and well. 80% of your revenue is generated by 20% of your customers! A smart company segments customers by value and monitors their activities closely. Rank your customers by actual revenue generation, then rank your customers regarding lifetime value (you will probably have to calculate a formula to do this). Compare the two lists and make sure you are investing in customer appreciation programs that target high-ranking customers on both lists.

#1: Build Staff Loyalty. It’s a fact: any firm with a high level of customer loyalty has also earned a high level of staff loyalty. It’s darn near impossible to build strong customer loyalty with a staff that is in constant turnover. Why? Because your customers want to buy from people who know them and their preferences. To build loyal staff, hold regular meetings with staff and ask these questions: What makes our company a good place to work? What can be done to make it an even better place to work? Take action on what you learn.

Here’s to a loyal customer base in 2012!

In last week’s posting, we began counting down the top 12 strategies for building a successful customer loyalty program in 2012. In part 2 of this series, condensed from Driving Retention and from Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It How to Keep It by Jill Griffin, we continue our countdown of the top 12 action steps you can take to implement a customer loyalty program.

#6: Get Responsive and Stay That Way. More and more, customers are coming to expect round-the-clock customer service. Review all customer touch points and identify any area that produces a responsiveness bottleneck. Prioritize these areas, with highest priority given to those affecting the most customers.

#5: Aggressively Seek Out Customer Complaints. 90% of customer complaints are unarticulated and manifest themselves in negative ways: unpaid invoices; lack of courtesy to your front line service reps; and above all, negative word of mouth. With social media, an unhappy customer can now reach thousands of your would-be customers in a few keystrokes. Head off bad press before it happens. Make it easy for customers to complain, and treat complaints seriously.

#4: Serve First, Sell Second. Today’s customers are smarter, better informed and more intolerant of being “sold” than ever before. They expect doing business with you to be as hassle-free and gratifying for them as possible. They believe you earn their business with service that is pleasant, productive and personalized; if you don’t deliver, they’ll leave.

#3: Know Your Loyalty Stages and Ensure Your Customers Are Moving Though Them. A loyal customer cannot be created overnight; they become loyal to a company one step at a time. By understanding the customer’s current loyalty stage, you can better determine what’s necessary to move that customer to the next level of loyalty.

#2: Practice the 80/20 Rule. All customers are not created equal. When it comes to customer loyalty, the 80/20 rule is alive and well. 80% of your revenue is generated by 20% of your customers! A smart company segments customers by value and monitors their activities closely. Rank your customers by actual revenue generation, then rank your customers regarding lifetime value (you will probably have to calculate a formula to do this). Compare the two lists and make sure you are investing in customer appreciation programs that target high-ranking customers on both lists.

#1: Build Staff Loyalty. It’s a fact: any firm with a high level of customer loyalty has also earned a high level of staff loyalty. It’s darn near impossible to build strong customer loyalty with a staff that is in constant turnover. Why? Because your customers want to buy from people who know them and their preferences. To build loyal staff, hold regular meetings with staff and ask these questions: What makes our company a good place to work? What can be done to make it an even better place to work? Take action on what you learn.

Here’s to a loyal customer base in 2012!

Does your business strategy for 2012 include a customer loyalty program? On an annual basis, loyalty program members outspend other customers by as much as 45%. As you prepare your goals and resolutions for the new year, think about building a loyalty program that focuses on keeping a core group of customers coming back repeatedly as opposed to a marketing program that achieves short term results.

In part 1 of this blog, condensed from Driving Retention and from Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It How to Keep It by Jill Griffin, we count down the top 12 action steps you can take to implement a customer loyalty program in 2012:

#12: Store Your Data in One Centralized Database. Review your company’s current database situation. How many customer databases exist? For example, does each sales rep keep her own customer database? Does each department keep its own? Brainstorm with staff on how to start consolidating the databases, with the ambitious goal of moving to one centralized database over time.

#11: Collaborate With Your Channel Partners. Contact your suppliers routinely and ask them, “If you could change one thing about the way we do business together that in turn creates better value for the customer, what would it be?” Use this feedback to steadily improve channel partner collaboration.

#10: Give Your Front Line the Skills to Perform. Review your hiring policies for front line workers to ensure candidates are being screened for adequate communication skills, especially oft-missing writing skills. Consider making a writing test part of your screening tool.

#9: Use Multiple Channels to Serve the Same Customers Well. Whether a customer comes into your store, calls your service center or visits your web site, they should get the same level of customer service. Using customer feedback as well as formal customer research processes, monitor customer performance levels for every channel. Things to watch for: in your customer’s eyes, are you providing equal service in each channel? Is one channel preferred over another? Why?

#8: Win Back Lost Customers. Research shows that a business is twice as likely to successfully sell to a lost customer as to a brand new prospect. Yet this is an opportunity that is often overlooked. Do you have an official program to win back lost customers? If not, begin immediately to identify lost customers and research processes others are recommending to win them back.

#7: Know Your Customer’s Definition of Value. Review your company’s current knowledge base regarding what your customers’ value. Look for these insights: (1) What is it about your products or services that drives loyalty today? (2) Which product or service areas most need improvement? (3) Where are you currently over-investing? (4) Which areas deserve more study for potential future investment?

Stay tuned for next week when we count down the top six ways to build customer loyalty in 2012! 

Does your business strategy for 2012 include a customer loyalty program? On an annual basis, loyalty program members outspend other customers by as much as 45%. As you prepare your goals and resolutions for the new year, think about building a loyalty program that focuses on keeping a core group of customers coming back repeatedly as opposed to a marketing program that achieves short term results.

In part 1 of this blog, condensed from Driving Retention and from Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It How to Keep It by Jill Griffin, we count down the top 12 action steps you can take to implement a customer loyalty program in 2012:

#12: Store Your Data in One Centralized Database. Review your company’s current database situation. How many customer databases exist? For example, does each sales rep keep her own customer database? Does each department keep its own? Brainstorm with staff on how to start consolidating the databases, with the ambitious goal of moving to one centralized database over time.

#11: Collaborate With Your Channel Partners. Contact your suppliers routinely and ask them, “If you could change one thing about the way we do business together that in turn creates better value for the customer, what would it be?” Use this feedback to steadily improve channel partner collaboration.

#10: Give Your Front Line the Skills to Perform. Review your hiring policies for front line workers to ensure candidates are being screened for adequate communication skills, especially oft-missing writing skills. Consider making a writing test part of your screening tool.

#9: Use Multiple Channels to Serve the Same Customers Well. Whether a customer comes into your store, calls your service center or visits your web site, they should get the same level of customer service. Using customer feedback as well as formal customer research processes, monitor customer performance levels for every channel. Things to watch for: in your customer’s eyes, are you providing equal service in each channel? Is one channel preferred over another? Why?

#8: Win Back Lost Customers. Research shows that a business is twice as likely to successfully sell to a lost customer as to a brand new prospect. Yet this is an opportunity that is often overlooked. Do you have an official program to win back lost customers? If not, begin immediately to identify lost customers and research processes others are recommending to win them back.

#7: Know Your Customer’s Definition of Value. Review your company’s current knowledge base regarding what your customers’ value. Look for these insights: (1) What is it about your products or services that drives loyalty today? (2) Which product or service areas most need improvement? (3) Where are you currently over-investing? (4) Which areas deserve more study for potential future investment?

Stay tuned for next week when we count down the top six ways to build customer loyalty in 2012!