The best preparation for tomorrow…

…is to do today’s work superbly well.

These words of wisdom from Sir William Osler are timely on two levels. First, many of you are personally and/or professionally preparing for tomorrow – planning your goals for 2010. Secondly, doing today’s work superbly well speaks to, among other things, making every interaction with your customers a Moment of Truth. During this current reset economy, moments of truth are significant to every business owner, corporate leadership team and non-profit organization that recognize the importance of loyal customers and donors.

So what is a loyal customer? Over the years in many customer-facing positions in business services and non-profit organizations, I see these traits as indicative of loyal customers compared to the satisfied customers we traditionally strive for.

• A loyal customer will proactively tell others about your service to others. A satisfied customer will tell others if you ask – maybe.
• A loyal customer will buy from you over and over again because you make it a no-brainer to do so. A satisfied customer will buy again – if it is convenient.
• A loyal customer is loyal because you continuously and routinely exceed their expectations. A satisfied customer has their expectations met - sometimes.
• A loyal customer is looking for, and gets, solutions to their business issues. A satisfied customer buys your products.

I recently came across an example of how inattention to moments of truth can negatively impact customer loyalty. Incidentally, I heard this story from multiple sources at unrelated events amplifying the impact, as I am sure I was not the only one who this story was relayed to. As a result of an acquisition, a computer retailer with local brick and mortar presence continues to advertise their services via the web. The consumer electronics company that purchased them markets the same products in the physical location at different prices and refuses to acknowledge the differences as well as fails to provide long time customers a reasonable and consistent solution, only excuses.

Because loyal customers typically represent less than 20% of your total customer base, on average, the remaining customers represent an opportunity for both you and your competitors. The opportunity is yours when you create and align your moments of truth to create a consistent value-based experience for your customers. However, the advantage goes to your competitors when you fail to provide consistent value and create a void in customer expectations. In the story above, leaders of the parent company created an environment where customers are now thinking about alternatives.

As you prepare for 2010, whom are you giving the advantage to?

Lead Well.

Rick Lochner