Can Your Customers Live Without You?
Apple -Top Brand Customers cannot live without – For the third consecutive year, Apple was named the top brand consumers can’t live without. Other companies that consumers couldn’t live without were Amazon, Dell, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft and of course Starbucks – former presenter at the Summit.
Are you brave enough to ask the tough questions? Most companies that do Customer satisfaction surveys ask the typical questions:
- How satisfied are you?
- How likely are you to continue to do business with us?
- How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or associate?
These are all good questions that should be asked. However, they don’t measure true emotional connections made with the Customer. That requires a different set of questions, a different mindset, company confidence and the courage to ask.
Can you imagine a world without Ritz-Carlton? The Ritz-Carlton has a strong tradition of measuring Customer satisfaction. However, if you ever stay at The Ritz and are asked to take their satisfaction survey, you may find some questions that seem a bit unusual like, “I can’t imagine a world without Ritz-Carlton.” While this may seem like an odd question, the Ritz-Carlton Hotels are not merely trying to measure guest satisfaction, but rather Customer engagement. It is a better metric of the emotional connection and perceived fit held by a Customer toward a business, and overall Customer loyalty.
What company can you NOT live without? We all have a company or two that we can’t fathom life without. What are the few companies that you would be extremely upset, if I told you, “You can no longer do business with them, ever again.” Could be a café, a local mom-and-pop business in your hometown, a drycleaner or hair salon. And it could be a more global company like Apple, Nordstrom, or Amazon. Now the important part is, think about what they have done and what they consistently do to make you so loyal, to make you feel that you cannot live without them. That is power. That is brand loyalty. The more people you can make feel like they cannot live without your brand, the closer you are to making price irrelevant. The key deciding factors to being a business people cannot live without are:
- The relationship they have built with their Customers — how they personalize the experience and make the Customer feel unique and cared for (Secret Service).
- The consistency of the experiences that they deliver– they are high quality and are dependable, on time, and do what they promise (Brilliant at the Basics).
- The way their employees always engage Customers. The enthusiastic and positive energy they have, and always seem to be happy (Five E’s).
- The way they react when something goes wrong– they make it right, no questions asked (Zero Risk).
- And how all their employees are so well trained, technically and at hospitality (Service Aptitude).
How can we be the company our Customers cannot live without? This is an excellent exercise to do with your management team. Ask each of them the same questions: Who are the companies that they can’t imagine not doing business with anymore and why? List them. What did these companies do to make them so loyal, so unaffected by price. Then determine how your business can provide the same level of experience consistently.
What are the companies you cannot live without? I would love to know which companies you do business with that you could not live without. Please share them in the comments below!
Developing a Comic Vision® – Tim Gard is the creator a Comic Vision®, which is the ability to become more resourceful and resilient at work and in your personal life. Through Comic Vision, Tim shares a rejuvenating and immediately applicable message teaching people how to increase morale while enhancing productivity and everyday enthusiasm, helping people diffuse routine or extreme stress by insulating themselves against negativity in three short, and easy to adopt, steps. Listen to Dave Murray’s interview with Tim Gard to learn more about this technique.
Tim Gard keynote speaker at the 2014 Secret Service Summit – Tim Gard is a tears-in-your-eyes funny keynote speaker who teaches people to be more resilient and resourceful, and he coaches businesses on how to enhance productivity and employee enthusiasm. He is a Hall of Fame Speaker. Tim has spoken at over 2,000 events worldwide from Texas to Tasmania and was selected by Meeting Planners Magazine as one of the “Best speakers ever seen or heard on the main stage.” Tim’s down-to-earth style and real-life humor leaves a lasting impression that you will benefit from for years to come. His skillful use of ordinary items in extraordinary ways, and extraordinary items in everyday ways, makes him one of the most popular speakers on the platform today. During the past two decades, Tim has traveled almost two million miles to perform, and is the author of four books. The DiJulius Group is so excited to share that Tim Gard is presenting at the Secret Service Summit November 5th & 6th in Cleveland, Ohio.
Customer eXperience Executive Academy – As a result of the organizations hiring and promoting a key executive to oversee their company’s Customer Experience, The DiJulius Group has launched the Customer eXperience Executive Academy so companies can send their Customer service leaders for comprehensive training and certification on all the facets and responsibilities that fall under Customer experience. If you or someone in your company is a fit for the Customer eXperience Executive Academy, give us a call today at 440-443-0023.
