Shep Hyken asks, “Does your customer feel a sense of loyalty from you?”
Your best customers are the hottest prospects for your competitors. The most effective sales strategies are not just about getting customers, but also deserving and keeping them. Customer experience expert, Shep Hyken and I recently joined forces to discuss how to create a culture of service and make it part of an ongoing sales strategy. Enjoy a replay of our web event at the end of this article – brilliant advice from Shep on building customer loyalty:
Do You Know, Like & Trust Your Customers?
by Shep Hyken
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Amaze Every Customer Every Time
What Is The Secret of Amazing Customer Service?
Shep Hyken and Patricia Fripp join forces for How Customer Service Drives Sales.
Would you believe attitude?
By Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE, Best Selling Author
I was recently invited to meet with a group of 12 executives to talk about customer service. I decided that for this more intimate group setting I would take an interactive approach, a dialogue with the audience rather than a speech or presentation. For one exercise, I divided the executives into two groups. One group was to discuss the best customer service experiences they had ever had, and the other group was to discuss the worst. The two groups were instructed to choose one experience to share – the best of the best and the worst of the worst – when we came back together after 10 minutes.
As it happens, both of the examples they shared came from restaurant experiences. The best customer service story was about a server who went above and beyond when a diner requested a specific beverage, but the restaurant didn’t serve that brand. The server called his wife and asked her to go purchase the drink at the grocery store and bring it to the restaurant. The guest was surprised and delighted, not only to get her drink of choice, but also with the server’s extra effort to take care of her.
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My friend and fellow Speakers Roundtable member, Mark Sanborn has just released Fred 2.0…
Nine years ago, bestselling author and business consultant Mark Sanborn introduced the world to Fred, his postman, who delivered extraordinary service in simple but remarkable ways. Fred’s story of passion, purpose and commitment inspired millions. Individuals, companies, even cities were inspired to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary each day. (more…)
Today’s consumers can sometimes look like a threatening mob. They’re often unhappy, make vague or irrational demands, and can rush in unexpected directions that strongly affect our livelihoods. They may suddenly take their business elsewhere or bombard us with time-consuming, expensive complaints. Even both.
“These people are manipulating the marketplace through pressure, protest, and politics,” says futurist Faith Popcorn who coined the term “vigilante consumers.”
Why have our customers become so volatile and unpredictable? The answer is simple. In the old days, conventional marketing divided prospective consumers into two categories, the classes and the masses. If you’re selling $100,000 cars you appeal to the classes, and if you you’re selling Hyundais, you appeal to the masses. (more…)
