We know that it costs 5 times more to obtain a new customer than to retain an existing one and that a 5% increase in customer loyalty can mean up to an 85% increase in profits.
But, how loyal are customers? And staff? Is there any correlation between the two? At a time when employees expect more from work than just a pay cheque, it is crucial to remember that if you don’t look after your staff, they won’t look after your customers. Loyalty from both must be earned like the loyalty of long term friends or pets…
A sight-impaired man and guide dog weave through traffic of a major street. After they miraculously reach the other side, the owner reaches in his pocket for a dog biscuit. A passer by, who witnessed the dangerous crossing, comments: “If I were you I wouldn’t reward that dog – it almost got you killed.”
The owner of the guide dog responds:
“I’m not rewarding it. I’m just finding where it’s mouth is so I can kick it in the butt!”
Likewise, remember to reward staff along the way for desired behaviour and not just give them a boot in the butt when things go wrong. Like finding new customers, it takes a lot longer to go through the process of hiring competent new staff than it does to look after your existing ones.
It’s also important to let regular customers know how much you appreciate their business rather than wait until they’ve left or are about to do so. It’s then too late to win back loyalty because:
“It takes years to win a customer and only seconds to loose one.’