Customer Loyalty Matters - Part II

Three more tips to deepen relationships with customers, establish greater levels of trust, and build stronger customer loyalty...

Understand what customers are paying for,

We like to believe customers are paying for our expertise. Yet, most customers cannot evaluate our expertise. So they simply assume we are experts by virtue of our brand credentials. What customers can assess is whether they experience positive outcomes, if the relationship they have with you is meaningful, if they feel valued, and if they receive a high level of service.

Outcome matters.

Practicing good interpersonal skills and maintaining solid customer relationships ae important for developing customer loyalty. But what really matters to customers are results they can see, count on, and talk about. Customers might come to you a few times because you have the right product or service for their needs, but they won't keep coming back to you based on your business personality alone. Customers must trust you to help them. They must see results and learn something from you to make it worth their while to continue as your customer.

Integrity leads to trust, which leads to a relationship.

Integrity involves fundamental behavior such as keeping your word, being honest, providing a consistent level of service, and being reliable. Building trust requires a business to continually put the customer's interests ahead of their own and display a genuine "other' orientation. You demonstrate that by being interested reather than interesting, and by not treating every interaction as an opportunity to share your message. Without integrity, there is no trust. Without trust, there is no enduring relationship.