Please Don’t Go!

The Road to Customer Loyalty

The service we render others is the rent we pay for our room on earth.

–

Wilfred Grenfell

For More Information Contact:

Impact Learning Systems InternationalP.O. Box 14110San Luis Obispo, CA 93406Toll Free: 800.545.9003Local: 805.781.3283Email: info@impactlearning.com www.impactlearning.com

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Please Don’t Go!

The Road to Customer Loyalty

ustomer satisfaction has long been the predominant measure of a company’s success. Whileit’s important to satisfy the customers your business serves, perhaps the most important

measure of success for businesses

—

large and small

—

is customer loyalty. It is customerloyalty, derived from consistent efforts to deliver customer satisfaction, which leads to an increasein sales, referrals, and profits. A study by Bain & Company concluded that a 5 percent increase incustomer loyalty led to an increase in profits ranging from 40 percent to 95 percent! (Bain &Company, 2006)

So how do you secure customer loyalty? It isn’t something your company can do easily or overnight.

Customers tend to remain loyal to those companies who continue to impress them with the value of their product or service, competitive pricing, and convenience. But the most important factordetermining customer loyalty is quality customer service!Following are some tips for improving customer loyalty at your organization:

Hiring

In order to create and maintain a successful contact center, you must hire the right people for the job. Selecting candidates who have the necessary skills (or the ability to learn them) and a greatattitude will help you to create a positive working environment, and one where employees strive tocontinuously show their dedication to the customers they serve.

In general, you’ll want to screen for candidates who can plan and execute their work, make

decisions and solve problems, exercise good judgment, and connect with other people. Morespecifically, you should take time during the hiring process to ask each candidate about his or her

motivation for pursuing the position. It’s important that you choose people who truly

have a desireto serve, and who will put a great deal of energy into making customers happy. These characteristicswill show through in their customer service and translate into loyal customers.

Training

Another necessary step on the road to customer loyalty is an effective training program that givesemployees the knowledge and skills they need to excel at their jobs. Additionally, by investing in

training, management conveys a commitment to employees’ su

ccess and a confirmation of theirvalue to the company. When employees feel confident in their abilities and satisfied with their rolein the company, they are likely to be happier, more efficient workers who take pride in serving theircustomers.