I wrote and article about a month ago titled, “Be Disruptive, Build Loyalty and Consistently Beat your Competition – 5 Steps to Succeeding in Difficult Times.” The article, I have to say, was a great benefit to a lot of people, at least there were a lot that downloaded the article. Because of that response and many other comments from readers of my blog, I wanted to give you a quick update of 5 more steps you might want to think about in difficult times.
First, Step One – Decide you will invest in your customers. When the economy is down, NOW is the time to invest in your customers. I just read a report that gave some interesting numbers. For example, a 20% increase in loyalty can yield up to 70% increase in profitability. Cut it in half, cut it in a quarter or some fraction, it still generates higher profitability – that is the key message.
Step Two, understand your customers true loyalty triggers and drivers. Take the time, invest in your customers and find out EXACTLY what it is that they want from you in these difficult times. This is the time when most companies simply cut prices and feel this is being “customer-centric” – WRONG. All this tells your customers is that you were over priced before and now you are trying to be more realistic. What they really want is better service and more focus on their needs in their difficult times – that is the bond they want. Trust me, they are waiting to tell you but you have to know WHAT TO ASK to get the right information.
Step Three – TELL THEM what you are going to do different. The key is to make sure they know what you are doing BEFORE you do it. Don’t just surprise them and test it out, tell them what you are going to do so they know what to expect. They will be excited to see what happens and how you are going to deliver on these promises and services. Don’t be afraid to tell them what you are capable of doing – just don’t tell them something you can’t deliver on. That will backfire and be worse than doing nothing.
Step Four – DELIVER, DELIVER, DELIVER. Do what ever you have to do to deliver on these loyalty triggers and promises you make to your customer and what you are telling them you are going to do. If you really want to do the best job, link to your business processes (this is what we talk about in our book, “Creating and Delivering Totally Awesome Custome Experiences“) so you can deliver “consistent” and “repeatable” awesome customer experiences to delight your customers.
Step Five – TELL THEM AGAIN what you are delivering and then ask them how you are doing – measure what you just told them and delivered to them. Think about it – you now have three touchpoints with the customer – you told them twice and you delivered once. What other program do you have that allows you to touch your customer with information they want to give you and get from you anyway – none that I have found.
I hope this helps a bit more and gives you a bit of additional insight. The key to remember is make a concerted and active decision that you are going to focus on your customer more than ever in these difficult times – and don’t do it with price. Do it with what they really want and what will last far longer than a quick price cut – delivering the experience they want and that will differentiate you and give you a competitive advantage. Best of luck…
Blaine
