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Turning customer loyalty upside down The most astute comment on customer loyalty I have ever heard was uttered during a workshop by Carlo Stuart, who works banquets at The Hotel Allegro in Chicago. I was leading the participants in a discussion of what it means to be engaged in the moment with a customer. Carlo said, "It means I'm loyal to my customer." I asked him to explain. "It's like tunnel vision," he continued, moving his hands in parallel from his face to where his customer would be. Carlo was describing how he gives complete focus to a customer when speaking with that customer. We usually think of "customer loyalty" as something our customers do for us. But in a JFK-esque twist, Carlo turns this around and describes it as something we do for our customers. No wonder so many "customer loyalty" programs are really nothing more than customer bribery programs. If the company behind a loyalty program is only focused on how they benefit from customer loyalty, they'll have to pay off customers for more business. What a fresh idea to think about how your loyalty benefits the customer. You can almost hear Carlos saying, "Ask not what your customers can do for you..." One of my clients, DentalCare Partners, operates a collection of 80 dental offices, known as "DentalWorks." Of 200 dentists, the number one producer of business is Joti Johal, of Gastonia, North Carolina. She's extremely busy, seeing patients non-stop, day after day. It's not uncommon for Dr. Johal to have patients in three chairs at once, with her working on one, while another is being prepped for a procedure and the third is waiting for novocaine to kick in. I asked Dr. Johal's office colleagues what her secret is. Shelly, manager of the DentalWorks Gastonia office, said, "When she talks with a patient, she gives complete focus to that person. The patient can tell that they are the only thing in the world that Dr. Johal cares about in that moment." Carlo Stuart and Joti Johal teach us a valuable lesson. If you want your customer to be loyal to you, first focus on how you can be loyal to your customer. It is obvious to customers when they are means to our ends. If they perceive that we view them merely as instruments for transaction, they will view us similarly in return. The loyalty they give us will not be real loyalty. It will be nothing more than barter. There's nothing wrong with barter, but it isn't loyalty. Loyalty lasts, bur barter is only as good as the current transaction. It is also obvious to customers when we are loyal to them. Show your customers that your interest is them, and not what you get from them, and you automatically earn their loyalty in return. Take Notice
Think of the loyalty programs in which you participate as a customer. These companies are trying to encourage you to be loyal to them...but are they showing any loyalty to you? When they engage with you, do you have the feeling that they are 100% directed towards that engagement, or are they more focused on what they can get from you? How do you compare? Now, think of your company, and consider how your organization views customer loyalty. In addition to encouraging your customers to be loyal to you, do you and your colleagues focus on being loyal to your customers? Try this In your encounters with customers over the next week, practice being loyal. Think of Carlo Stuart and Joti Johal, and, with their inspiration, offer your full attention and display your complete interest in the customer. Ask not what your your customer can do for you...
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© 2008 Steve Yastrow. All rights reserved. |
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How to create relationship-building encounters, instead of relationship-eroding
transactions 
