The Brand Value of Putting your Customers First

We have heard it over and over again, communication is no longer a one-way street between your brand and your customers. In fact, more often than not, your brand reputation lies in the hands of internet-savvy consumers who will advocate for or against your brand outside the realm of the traditional marketing mix.  Marketers must consistently engage these advocates with flexibility and understanding. 

If you handle a customer complaint poorly, it can severely hurt your reputation. On the contrary, going above and beyond to amend the situation will give your brand credibility and earn trust. For example, I recently ordered food from Domino's only to find out they don’t deliver to my house, even though they have delivered there in the past. I wrote an email complaining about their inconsistent service and expressed my disappointment. The next day I received anemail apologizing for what happened, the email included an offer for two pizza pies on them. This is an example of a brand that is putting the customer first by making the extra effort to invest in a disappointed customer to keep them loyal.

Another prime example was during the big snowstorm of 2007 that resulted in JetBlue cancelling 1000+ flights. JetBlue was a young company at the time (7 years old), and they knew one mistake could drastically hurt their reputation. The CEO, David Neeleman, decided not to hide from the problem, but address it head-on. He went straight to the press, apologized, and rolled out a “customer bill of rights” as a solution for future problems. This bill of rights gave customers monetary compensation for delayed or cancelled flights. The best part is that he allowed customers who suffered through the snowstorm to benefit from this new bill, even though it was created after the fact. This decision initially cost the company millions, but their efforts to keep their customers loyal and happy went a long way.

Safeguard your brand reputation by educating your employees on how to stay true to your brand values and company mission. Demonstrate that you can consistently be there for your customers and they will reciprocate with kind words and recommendations to friends, family, and the online community.

5 Tips to Keep Customers Coming Back For More

Creating a large pool of loyal customers is extremely important to the sustainability of a business.  Having loyal customers allows you to up-sell your products at a more successful rate.  Great products and excellent customer service are key to creating loyal customers.  No matter what industry you are in, issues always arise; it is how you deal with these issues that can really make or break your relationship with your customers.  Customers want to find that one brand they can really trust.  Once that trust is built, they’ll continue to come back for more!  Check out these 5 tips on building customer loyalty for your business:

Fine-tune Your Product: This might seem obvious, however, it is extremely important to make sure you work out every possible kink in your product or service.  Planning ahead for any possible issues that might arise is also important.  Customers want to know that they can trust you to deliver on your promises.  A positive experience with your business will keep them coming back! 

Speedy Response: As we all know, nothing is perfect.  Issues come up whether we like it or not.  However, it is how we deal with these issues that really matters.  When dealing with customers, listening to their concerns is very important.  Take the time to make sure you really understand the issue of your customer; this even may require restating the problem at hand multiple times to make sure everyone is on the same page.  Once you really understand, deal with the issue in a timely fashion.  Customers are impatient and do not enjoy waiting.   In addition, check social media constantly!  Customers are turning to social media to complain about problems.  Follow up immediately with anyone complaining about your product via social media.  Reaching out in this manner will also add a personal touch to the interaction, making the customer feel special.

Interactive Touch Points: From sales to training to implementation to providing customer service, there are many different touch points with a customer.  Break down each point of interaction and find ways to fine-tune them.  Create a plan to make sure that each of these touch points are strong and practically fool proof!  This will give the customer a sense of consistent service, which is extremely important in terms of building trust.  A negative experience at one single touch point can ruin the overall experience for the customer, regardless of how positive the experiences at other touch points may have been.

Focus On the Journey: Once you have worked on fine-tuning each point of interaction, take a step back and look at the big picture.  Focus on the overall journey of the customer and see if there is anything that can be done to make the entire experience, as a whole, better for the customer.  This may include adding or removing a step in the journey or even reorganizing the flow of interactions.  See what can be done to make the entire experience great!

Feedback: The most important step in keeping loyal customers is asking for feedback, both on your product and in customer service.  This gives you the opportunity to see how things can be improved from an outside perspective.  When changes are made based on feedback, customers feel as though they are being listened to and have a say in what is going on.  Even being able to simply contribute feedback is a nice personal touch.

Now, take a step back and see how you can improve your business process to increase customer loyalty!