YOUR BEST FORM OF ADVERTISING
Take care of the clients you have and your business will continue to flourish. Good news passing from one to the other.
Your best form of advertising is your current clients. That's right, and it is also the most economical.
Peter Drucker said that the purpose of business is to create and keep a customer. It is really that simple. Creating a customer is done through a clear message and marketing but keeping a customer is based on performance. Not enough of us really focus on the retaining customer part of that equation.
How many times have you heard, "what separates us from others is our service." I hear it all the time but does the speaker really know what that means? And also, too many focus on customer satisfaction to determine their customer service measurements. This measurement does not get to the heart of what separates them.
Some also make a mistake in the method of measuring the voice of their customer. Asking people to write a rating on social media is MARKETING not measurement. Measurement is consistent, private, and asks for the good, the bad, and the ugly. This gives management a dashboard for continuous improvement.
Satisfaction surveys are unable to predict customer behaviors because they are built on faulty foundations. Many organizations assume that high levels of satisfaction translate into customer loyalty when, in fact, customer satisfaction ratings are more closely linked to your customers’ perceptions of your products or service attributes rather than to the value gained by those products or services or your product or service compared to competition. It is all about the perceived value proposition.
Satisfaction is a measurement of, “I expected it and I got it; therefore, I’m satisfied.” If this were translated into a grading system, satisfaction could easily translate into a grade of “C” on any report card. The desired score is obviously an “A” and A’s always equate to loyal customers. A’s imply that customers got more than they expected and their expectations were exceeded in some way. Based on what is truly important to customers, they received more value from you than from your competitors.
Perceived value as defined by customers (as opposed to being satisfied) creates loyal customer relationships, and customer loyalty is the best predictor of your future strength and growth potential. The value you provide to your customers is always compared to the value your competitors provide; therefore, value is your customers’ perception or your relative to similar real estate agents or other service providers—your competitors!
The best way to create perceived value in the eyes of your customer is to always exceed their expectations.
In summary, create a system to survey every customer on each transaction or service. You will know if you are continuing to exceed expectations and if the measurement starts to fall you can immediately make adjustments. Loyal customers are your least expensive form of advertising and it can best be summed with the survey question, “How likely are you to recommend us to your friends?”
For a similar post on our web site see HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE?
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Grant Schneider - Leadership and Business Coach Creating Successful Business Outcomes
President Performance Development Strategies
- Business Performance and Strategic Business Plans
- Organizational Effectiveness
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914-953-4458, Armonk NY 10504 grant@pdstrategies.com
Visit my website www.pdstrategies.com for information on how you can obtain quantum leaps in your business performance.
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