One loyal customer at a time

First, there was Customer Service. Then came Customer Intimacy.

Famous author and speaker Tom Peters popularized the term Wow! Wowing customers. Then a plethora of books and seminars rode the wave of that single word. Wowing customers.

Delighting customers.

Dazzling customers.

This shows a truth and certainty in business: businesses need to make their customers happy because the customers decide whether their business doors would stay open or not.

The hinge on my laptop was defective. My daughter’s laptop had stopped functioning when her bottle of acetone spilled over it. The Singaporean distributors said, “Sorry, we can’t do anything about it despite your warranty coverage, because the coverage doesn’t cover customer negligence.”

I felt sad and bad, not only because it meant spending a lot of money on new units, but more because it felt like I was being reprimanded inside the principal’s office.

But I didn’t give up hope. I told my daughter I’d buy her a new one, but that she should hold on to the old one. Since we were spending the upcoming holidays in California, I thought we could bring the old unit to their store there and ask them if they’d be willing to help us with our problem.

Three months later, we were at their California store. Their people were friendly and knowledgeable. A guy wearing a baseball cap looked at my unit and said, “Oh I see the problem. We’ve had similar cases before, but don’t worry. We’ll replace the hinge for you at no cost at all.” I had been bracing myself for the guy to charge me with “Negligence”, but the charge never came.

Then I showed the gentleman my daughter’s unit. I told him the truth: “This unit belongs to my daughter, and she had a bottle of acetone spilled over the unit, and now it won’t work.” With equal pleasantness, the guy looked at the unit, looked back at me and said, “This one’s still under warranty, but let me see what I can do for you. Come back here five days from now.” He got my phone number, smiled back at me and said, “Enjoy your vacation!”

Three days later, I received a call telling us that the units were ready. And guess what? My laptop, which was initially branded with “my negligence” had been fully repaired, and my daughter’s unit had been replaced by a brand new one – with upgraded software and all. You should’ve seen the smile on my daughter’s face! She had wanted to hug and kiss the gentleman from the California store!

I can’t wait to visit that store again this December. I don’t need anything in particular from them at the moment, but I just have this urge to go and buy something from them. That California store has made loyal customers out of us.

This is what loyalty does: it makes the customer want to reward the product/service provider for excellent service and customer relations. My experience with that store was such a great one, I could write on and on about it just to share it with everyone I know.

So-called Customer Relationship Management prides itself on volume, speed and efficiency. These might sound good on paper, but what truly matters, what builds strategic value for a business, is loyalty – customer loyalty and employee loyalty. The best thing you can do for your business right now has nothing to do with new technology, economies of scale or first-mover advantage. It’s something simpler. It’s something more dependable. The single best thing you can do for your business right now is to build true customer loyalty, one customer at a time.

A loyal customer is like a person who has fallen in love with you. Your products or service offerings stop being commodities and start becoming a personal relationship. All other brand, vendors and shops don’t even come into focus.

The truth is that every product and service is replaceable, and commodities are interchangeable. But this is not anymore the case when the relationship is already there.

So, are your customers loyal to you?

Build loyalty. One client at a time.

(Only a few seats left in my upcoming seminar! Develop your leadership skills with me, as I facilitate the well-acclaimed Dr. John C. Maxwell Program “Developing The Leader Within You” on October 15-16 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Hannah at 09228980196, or call 632-6310658 or 6310660.

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