Earning Their Pledge of Allegiance
Concern about navigating likely sales headwinds means there’s never been a better time to get serious about enticing existing customers to buy more. Of course, it won’t happen by accident.
Sure, you believe your customers are loyal, but when you seriously analyze those sales results, the basically flat numbers don’t show any love.
Why?
In most cases the answer is that you’ve failed to capture the economic potential of the goodwill in your customer base. That’s the contention of co-authors Rob Markey and Fred Reichheld in The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World. (Markey and Reichheld are also partners at management consulting firm Bain & Co.)
In a Harvard Business Review piece, “Make It Easier for Happy Customers to Buy More,” Markey contends that high loyalty means customers like doing business with you. So they should do three things: 1) stick with you longer, 2) buy more and 3) tell their friends.
“But the economic benefit comes only when customers act on those feelings, and companies can make it easier or harder for them to do so,” Markey says.
Markey offers excellent advice for dealers who desire to turn customer loyalty into bottom-line results.
LEARN Commit the time to identify and learn more about your most loyal customers. Companies often work hard to learn the causes of customer dissatisfaction, and they should. But Markey emphasizes it’s equally important to determine the sources of customer delight.
For example, if they liked the buying experience, what was it that most impressed them? Or if they indicate they’re most happy with product quality, what in particular do they like? After all, you can’t replicate an action that earned loyalty if you don’t know what it was.
KNOW It’s basic, but really get to know your most loyal customers. Doing so can reveal both strengths and weaknesses in your dealership, its product offerings, services and customer care. It could help you discover there are unmet needs, and you don’t want competitors meeting those needs for you. It will also enable you to fine-tune your offerings to the customer.
TELL Help customers spread the good word about you. “When there’s a drum-tight fit between what you offer and what your best customers want, you’ll want to help them sing your praises,” writes Markey. Do so by providing them with the kinds of stories they will tell to friends, giving those friends a reason to buy from you.
The stories are all around the dealership. They can come from mundane, everyday services. They might reflect exceptional service in a tough situation. There are likely many anecdotes in every department.
Don’t forget stories of goodwill by the dealership, especially charitable or community efforts the business supports. Stories about how employees made a real difference for boating families and the dealership by organizing, educating and opening new horizons for customers. The stories can take the form of references, videos, email newsletters and the use of social media.
In addition to a collection of great stories with which customers can identify and repeat, Markey’s most powerful point is taking the time to know more about your customers. He says that will let you tailor products and services to fit perfectly into your customers’ lives and boating preferences.
The payoff: Happy customers remain loyal and buy more, more often.
Note: Markey leads the NPS Loyalty Forum, a group of approximately 35 senior executives from loyalty-leading companies around the world, including The Vanguard Group, American Express, JetBlue, Telstra, TD Bank, LEGO, Progressive Insurance and Intuit.
