Do you know if your business has at least one happy customer who can’t live without you? For the third consecutive year, Apple was named the top brand consumers can’t live without. There were also other companies that consumers couldn’t live without. Brands such as Amazon, Dell, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, and of course Starbucks – former presenter at the Summit.
As business owners, it is important to know if your brand is able to promote customer loyalty.
Are You Brave Enough To Ask The Tough Questions?
Most companies that do Customer satisfaction surveys ask the typical questions:
- How satisfied are you with our product or service?
- 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.
The lack of emotional customer feedback won’t show why you have a happy Customer. It may not give you insight on why the Customer was disappointed either.
How can you measure customer success? You need to use a different set of questions. You should have a different mindset and the company confidence and courage to ask.
Can You Imagine A World Without Ritz-Carlton?
The Ritz-Carlton has a strong tradition of how they measure 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. One example is “I can’t imagine a world without Ritz-Carlton.”
This may seem like an odd question. The Ritz-Carlton Hotels are not merely trying to measure guest satisfaction, but rather Customer engagement. First, it is a better metric of emotional connection. Second, it is perceived fit held by a Customer toward business, and 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 dry cleaner, or a 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 that made you a happy customer. Think of what they consistently do to make you so loyal. What made 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.
That is power. That is brand loyalty. The more customer base 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. How they 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. They are on time, and they do what they promise (Brilliant at the Basics).
- The way their employees always engage Customers. The enthusiastic and positive energy they have. That they 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. Both in technical skills 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 what makes them a happy customer. Use these questions: Who are the companies that they can’t imagine not doing business with anymore? Why? List them.
What did these companies do to make them so loyal? To a point that they are 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!
John R. DiJulius is a best-selling author, consultant, keynote speaker and President of The DiJulius Group, the leading Customer experience consulting firm in the nation.
