Loyalty is the goal, not merely satisfaction
"We have a 97.5% customer satisfaction rating." Big deal.
That means 2.5% of your customers are upset and they're telling everyone. And 97.5% of your customers will shop anyplace the next time they go to market for your product or service. Whoopie.
Satisfied customers will shop anyplace. Loyal customers will fight before they switch and they will proactively refer people to buy from you.
That's the premise; here's the challenge. How do you make customers loyal? It's easy. You concentrate on loyalty instead of satisfaction. It's a mindset combined with an understanding of the concepts and a dedication to take actions and perform in new ways.
The reward is a loyal customer; the consequence is a lost customer or at least a wishy-washy one.
"I'm satisfied "
What is a satisfied customer? One that felt OK about dealing with you. Their needs were met. The product was OK. The service was OK. The experience was OK. They are satisfied with their purchase. They may or may not talk about the experience. They may or may not refer someone to you. Their overall feeling about you is between neutral and positive, and their experiences with you have not been negative - not bad, but not great.
"I'm loyal "
What is a loyal customer? One that felt great about dealing with you. Their needs were met and/or exceeded. Your delivery was great. The service was great. The experience was great. They are ecstatic with their purchase. They will proactively talk about the experience. They will proactively refer someone to you. Their overall feeling about you is wonderful and their experiences with you have been memorable. Wow!
The real challenge of loyalty
Make me want to come back.
Make me want to tell others.
For example Julio and I walked into Emeril's Restaurant in New Orleans. It was a pretty classy place. We sat down and our waiter approached our table. I expected the traditional, "Hi, my name is Jason and I'll be your server tonight. Can I get you something from the bar?" Crap. "Start you off with an appetizer?" Crap. "Tell you about our specials?" Crap.
To my surprise, he was carrying two small, well-decorated plates of food. "The chef would like you to try some of this," the waiter said with pride, and placed the plates in front of us. Wow!
Every year I eat some 1,000 meals in restaurants. In the last 10,000 meals, the chef never asked me to try squat. I was speechless, floored, and excited all at once.
The meal as you could imagine was superb, as was the service. During the meal, the chefs came out of the kitchen to take a bow. The place went wild with applause. I gave them a standing ovation.
Now the main course is over. Julio and I are stuffed, but craving something sweet. So, I say to our waiter, "I'm full up to the Adam's apple, but do you have just a small something sweet in the kitchen?"
"Say no more!" said the waiter with a flair. In three minutes he returns with a plate full of a miniature portion of every dessert on the menu. And two spoons, and two forks. Very cool.
We tipped the waiter 40% and I felt like we stiffed him.
Do you have any idea how many people I tell about "the chef would like you to try some of this?" Everyone I can get to listen. And they all ask the same question: "What was the name of that restaurant again?" I spell it out slowly: E-M-E-R-I-L-S.
Who is spelling your name that slowly?
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of "The Sales Bible," and "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." President of North Carolina-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. He can be e-mailed at salesman@gitomer.com.
