How To Become The Standout Choice With This Easy Formula.

Ignoring these 5 truths sends your customers into the waiting arms of your competitors.

Brand loyalty might be defined as, “Your customers’ willingness to continue to do business with you despite having less expensive or more convenient alternatives.” 

Harvard Business Review studies show that acquiring a new customer costs from 5 to 25 times more than retaining an existing one. Further, research done by Bain & Company shows that a 5% increase in customer retention rates increases profits by 25%-95%.

Clearly, it should be the focus of every business to clutch customers. But I’m forever stymied by how many businesses are distracted by internal issues or confused about priorities. Lacking a customer centric business model, they leave their customers like antelope on an open plain vulnerable to attack by cheetahs, the competitors.  

Sure, Kayak and other travel websites do a great job of finding countless ways to get from A to B. But I rarely consult those, I go directly to Delta’s website. If the travel cost seems reasonable, I buy it. I usually spend 0 minutes comparing other options.  

Analyzing my own behavior, here’s why I do it, it’s easy and they make me feel good about it. The mechanics of the experience start with a website that’s quick to navigate, a well designed phone app, a selection of check-in options at the airport depending upon what services I need, a comfortable lounge with food, a welcoming crew at the gate who often thanks me for being a 1M mile customer and quick checked bag retrieval. If I need phone help, they answer right away, giving me options for waiting or a call back if an agent isn’t immediately available.

But it doesn’t always go as planned. Sometimes steward crews are cranky, sometimes wait times on the phone and at the airport give me headaches. Start down this path, the list grows long.

Recently I headed west to ski Mt. Bachelor in Oregon with some pals who live on the West Coast. Delta sent my bag and ski equipment to PHX instead of PDX. Yep, all of my ski gear went to Phoenix not Portland. Delta’s response, go buy everything you need, we’ll reimburse you.  They did. It cost thousands. They pegged my loyalty meter.

Customers are the lifeblood of every business and they’re expensive to acquire. The world grows more competitive every day, thus creating a growing value for each existing customer. Simultaneously, considering G&A, operating, sales and marketing expenses, the cost of acquiring customers isn’t going down anytime soon either.

Businesses taking ownership of the customer experience with their brands win. Businesses with seemingly better priorities or putting their brand experience in a foster home do so at their peril. Doing it right to grow market share and increase profits means a customer centric business model must be the prime concern.

Usually, it’s when things go wrong that you’re judged on how customer centric your business is. And that’s why a number of business owners I know use those opportunities to breed loyalty and win customers. 

One supplier on my radar looks for trouble. They sell parts and offer advice to anyone, using the opportunity to win loyalty and double down on the Law of Reciprocity. They believe solving problems truly builds a following. They appear to be right, their customers love them.

When things are going well, anyone can look good. When it gets ugly, do you have a plan? What happens when your customers are unhappy? Sooner or later too many of your customers will have some issue, a crossroads at which your company will be measured. 

Cringing at that prospect admits you’re losing customers. Acknowledging a plan fortifies every effort to nurture loyalty, preserve margin and operate more efficiently.

Here’s a checklist for doing it right:

- Easy availability of contact information, a minimum of phone and email.

- Quick response- answer phone calls within 2 rings, 24 hour response by email.

- Knowledgable people available and eager to solve problems.

- Service parts that ship within 24 hours, red label if required.

- Provide followup contact information and path if needed.

Imagine you are a customer with a problem, isn’t this how you’d like to be treated? Ignoring these 5 truths sends your customers into the waiting arms of your competitors. 

Your competitors who proactively focus on a customer centric business model are in the process of stealing your customers right now. Concentrating on executing well favors loyalty and superior business metrics. It's time to get busy.

Take a page out of Apple’s, Amazon’s and Go Daddy’s book to win by owning how your brand is perceived by your customers. Your business must either evolve to exceptional levels as interpreted by your customers or it will die.