The Secret to Loyal Customers is Caring

I recently read a quote that said that “The most important people in your life are the ones that care the most.”  This isn’t just true in our personal relationships, it’s also true for our customer relationships.

Consumers are loyal to companies that care about their experience.  Jeanne Bliss outlined five decisions that a company can make that would make them “beloved” by their customers.

• Decide to Believe: Beloved companies trust their employees and their customers. They suspend cynicism and create policies that assume honesty. My favorite example is of Zane’s Cycles, a Connecticut retailer that sells over $13 million worth of bicycles annually from one location. They encourage their customers to take test rides with no questions asked. That includes their $6,000 bicycles. Of the 4,000 bikes they sell each year, only five are stolen. It just doesn’t make sense to start a customer relationship on a note of distrust for the sake of the five people who are dishonest.

• Decide with Clarity of Purpose: Companies who decide to focus their operations on why they exist for the customer are rewarded with loyalty and love from their customers. Trader Joe’s agonized over the decision to get scanning equipment because the pinging sound might interrupt their employees chatter with customers. Apple spent a lot of time and money creating a retail environment that encouraged “hanging around” so that the store would be a gathering place. You can see how unyielding focus on the customer experience is rewarded by happy customers.

• Decide to be Real: To what degree do you “get” your customers? USAA decided that all their new hires should eat like soldiers. USAA offers home and auto insurance to a customer base that’s largely military members and their families. It’s clear from this example that USAA knows they can’t be real if they don’t know what it’s like.

• Decide to be There: Beloved companies are “there” by giving their customers what they want. Zara, a trendy fashion store invests in getting fashion into the store within 15 days – instead of investing in advertising. Zane’s Cycles gives away parts that cost less than $1. Find out what’s important to your customers and then BE THERE and give it to them.

• Decide to Say Sorry: At some point, things will go wrong. It’s how a company says “I’m sorry” that makes them beloved by their customers. Netflix decided that honestly was the best policy. In 2008, they notified all of their customers about a glitch that might have caused shipments to be late. Most customers never noticed the shipment, but they noticed the apology.

If you look closely at each one, you’ll see that each of these is rooted in caring; giving special attention to how the customers will experience the product or service.

See in what ways you can create marketing strategies around each of these caring decisions and you’ll see your profits go up!