How You Can Get 95% Customer Loyalty

As Customer Leadership Executive for five large U.S. market leaders, Jeanne Bliss has transformed the customer experience by getting companies to make the customer the priority, driving 95% loyalty rates. The author of “I Love You More Than My Dog: Five Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad,” Jeanne Bliss spoke at American Marketing Group’s recent international conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

Even in financial downturns, companies who truly focus on the customer experience outshine the competition, Bliss told the roughly 900 attendees. She called these businesses “beloved companies,” and said that these firms all had certain fundamentals in common. 

Focus on the customer. Acting altruistically is actually hardwired into human beings, she said, citing a number of studies. Customers are drawn to companies that consider customer needs when making their decisions, she said.  Not only that, but they will become your best marketers.

Among her examples was a hospital that everyone in community tried to avoid. “This happened because of an extraordinary focus on the customers and their emotional needs. Getting into the emotional mindset of their customer, the employees recognized the stress of racing a child to the emergency room, often with other kids in tow, and grappled with how to reduce the stress. The answer: they added valet parking and a concierge. Now, it is the hospital of choice in the region.

Let your principles guide decisions. Every decision at every level of a company should flow from an understanding of your customers and what they need from you. She used Land’s End as an example, noting that when catalog shopping was in its beginning stages, founder Gary Comer believed customers wanted peace of mind, and that became the guiding principle for other decisions. “His guarantee with “no ifs, ands or buts” was not just a marketing statement, but a guiding principle that empowered employees to think about the purchase from the consumer’s point of view…to imagine the customer stretching a turtleneck over the ends…and how they felt when it didn’t fit.”

Trust your customers; believe in your employees. Customers and employees want to connect with each other, and that connection is what keeps customers coming back, she said. “However, policies and procedures often create a wedge.” Employees are drawn to companies that allow them to serve their customers and customers become emotionally attached to companies that truly make customer needs their priority.”  

Show empathy when things go wrong. Companies, like people, show their true colors under adversity.  “A shallow apology doesn’t repair the damage that a true emotional connection can,” she said. “Employees who are empowered are able to apologize honestly when things go wrong and repair the emotional connection in a way that makes customers even more loyal to your company.”

That’s why it’s important to hire employees who fit with your corporate culture. Zappos.com, in fact, offers new hires $2,000 to leave after a trial period if the employee feels the culture is not a good fit, she said. “Ask yourself, are you hiring partners or filling positions.”

She challenged travel agents to ask themselves if they believed customers are an asset or a cost center. “It’s a very different mindset,” she stressed.

Next week: Travel sellers tell how they encourage repeat and referral business.