When the economy is doing well, it’s interesting how customers can be taken for granted with so many customers to choose from, organizations are quick to forget those who put them in their current state: customers. Ironically, the acquisition cost of keeping a customer is less expensive than trying to find a new one. Recent research indicates that the costs of advertising, web development, television production, and other media are simply too costly for the bottom line. However, instead of focusing on the core, organizations are relentlessly seeking new customers for business.

A customer recently recommended a certain provider to David. Trying to secure a large print order, David immediately called the supplier, not once but five times. The call was never returned and the supplier lost a significant six figure order. The question for you, “Are you losing business before their eyes?” Providing an experience that satisfies customers and differentiates itself from the competition drives both repeat visits and improved profitability. However, bad experiences like the one above allow clients like David to test competitors and freely move on to others. Plus, in today’s fast-paced, competitive world, it’s not hard for someone like David to grab remote control and quickly switch to the competition. And if that doesn’t work, they’ll switch again as loyalty in the current market dries up.

Family and Friends Plan

The cost of doing business is very high. Everything from gasoline to telecommunications is on the rise. Ironically, keeping customers costs less than a third of the cost of acquiring new customers. Organizations today fail to adopt the “Family and Friends Plan.” A negative customer-provider interaction will be shared among family, friends, and neighbors. The same client recently asked a real estate agent who was professionally securing a million dollar sales deal to look for a new home. Being distant from the customer by focusing on new customer acquisition, he lost not only the million dollar sale but a 1.2 million dollar purchase from the same customer! Friends and neighbors discovered the problem and now the agent’s sales are down 37%.

It’s the little things

I do a lot of work with a print and ship operation near my home office. Many providers have chosen my services, but I prefer to go to Frank and Carol. They have a mutual passion for serving the customer. My visits are not business, but interested friends exchanging banter and getting to know each other better. The couple knows my children’s names, their respective birthdays, and even my wife’s! That’s not just interest, it’s not about friendship, it’s service differentiation. Also, one Sunday night I received a phone call at 9:30 from Frank telling me that he had finished some work. He apologized for the two day delay and wanted me to know that the job was not only done, but it was on his account. That is service with a smile, and service that continues to keep me coming back time and time again.

Consistency

Effective operations and service experiences drive the bottom line. Consistent execution leads to repeat business through customer loyalty and lower cost of operation. Interestingly, and based on doctoral research prior to this study, happy customers lead to happy employees, and happy employees lead to less attrition on both sides of the operation.

Three businesses exemplify consistency; 1) Starbucks always hires enthusiastic and passionate baristas. His energy and consistency help retain customer loyalty. No wonder consumers don’t mind paying more for coffee. Whether you are in Boise or Baton Rouge, you, the consumer, will always receive similar service. 2) Southwest Airlines reduces the fairness of flying by offering a uniform fare with a passionate and energetic staff. Infrequently, one finds a bad experience traveling on this airline, which continues over the years to generate significant profits. 3) McDonald’s offers fast, reliable and efficient service in any city. The employees are constantly ready and ready for your order. And, while dietary issues have changed in recent times, this fast food icon continually posts profitable results.

Although each maintains a different demographic and product/service focus, the differentiation between each and its competitors is consistency in operation and operational design. Customers repeatedly experience consistency every time they enable a high-performing, low-cost customer loyalty program.

Standards for Excellence

A program or rather a culture to achieve a consistent experience is hard and hard work. The first phase is to critically assess where you are and where you want to be. It is imperative to take up pen and paper and ask both customers and employees about their experience with the organization. Look for trends and spikes in the data. Don’t ask why, ask what and how. There are other useful ideas:

1. Conduct unannounced site visits if there are multiple locations or just observe operations. Use a critical eye here to denote spikes in your organization’s mission, vision, and values.

2. Don’t look for the obvious. Look for the justification of the small elements. Make sure calls are answered within two to three rings. I return calls within an allotted time, eg I return all customer calls within reason within 90 minutes of receipt. Use thank you cards and remember customers’ names.

3. Teach and train. Your clients, just like your customers, need the right operational tools. If you are looking for improvements, you should teach them, since habit years do not change immediately.

4. Rules. Simply put, when change is needed, set standards and stick to them. These include appearance, dress code, hiring, and customer interaction. If the culture doesn’t exemplify the standards, how can customers stay loyal?

Clearly, globalization, the proliferation of the Internet, and the ease of entrepreneurship have created a highly competitive environment. Differentiation, loyalty, consistency and execution are paramount to the customer experience. It’s not the conscious effort but the unconscious niceties that will help separate your organization, differentiate it, build customer loyalty, and maintain your profits.