How To Build Customer Loyalty by Focusing on the Experience

In an age of unprecedented innovation and global competition, customers’ expectations have risen dramatically, and, with each new innovation, the bar is set higher for everybody. For example, having to wait longer than a week to receive an order is enough to make the average person take their business elsewhere. This is where we’re at today, but you can rest assured that standards will continue to rise. In the past, a focus on the customer experience was never really considered a priority by business leaders because it was seen as a “soft” metric that was hard to connect with the bottom line. That’s no longer the case, and research has shown that focus on this area is a clear differentiator for businesses. Research done by Jon Picoult of Watermark Consulting showed a significant gap in performance between customer experience leaders and laggards over a five-year period.

 

Five-Year Stock Performance Of Customer Experience Leaders Versus Laggards, Versus S&P 500 (2007 to 2011)

Given the implications for your bottom line, how can you make sure that your business keeps up with the market in order to give your customers an experience that will build and maintain their loyalty and engagement?

Simon Sinek has gained notoriety in recent years for his book and famous TED Talk about motivating people to action and connecting with them via shared values. He created a framework called the “Golden Circle”, which provides a nice outline for us to think about connecting with our customers and differentiating ourselves from the crowded competitive landscape.

Every company out there has an answer to these three questions, but being exceptionally good or bad in any one of them can determine whether the business will be a resounding success or an eventual failure.

What: Does your product solve a real problem? Is there demand that you can satisfy better, faster or cheaper than the competition?

How: How do you interact with your customers? Is the experience with your company pleasurable and efficient?

Why: Does your company have an identity that is tied to a purpose? Is there a way that consumers can connect with you besides your core business?

 

Taking the time to approach these questions strategically is the first step towards becoming a customer-centric company. Companies that use advanced inventory management systems like AdvancePro not only become more efficient, but also improve their customer experiences and build loyalty. This has created a new level of service that has come to be expected amongst customers, and companies that haven’t leveraged the technologies available to them are being left in the dust. When people consider the benefits of using AdvancePro, potential savings tend to come to mind before potential added revenue. But the truth is that using AdvancePro gives companies the ability to answer the “how” in a way that can have a significant impact on customer loyalty and retention, which leads to more upsell opportunities and revenue.

Let’s compare some of the ways that companies using AdvancePro serve their customers better than companies that manage their inventories with entry-level programs like Excel or QuickBooks:

AdvancePro helps companies achieve the gold standard for customer service, the “perfect order”: providing the right product, delivered in full, on time, every time. Customers’ expectations have never been higher, making it all the more important to be on top of your game when it comes to fulfillment.

 

Article Sources:

Slalom Consulting , Age of Heightened Expectations E-Book

Sinek, Simon. “Tools.” Start With Why. Simon Sinek, https://www.startwithwhy.com/default.aspx

Picoult, Jon. Watermark Consulting, http://www.watermarkconsult.net/blog/2012/02/01/the-roi-of-a-great-customer-experience/

Gross, Jonathan. Ziff Davis. http://www.itworldcanada.com/archive/Documents/whitepaper/ITW275A_Exceptional_Customer.PDF

 

If you’d like to find out more about how AdvancePro can help you delight your customers, please complete the form below, and you’ll be contacted by one of our AdvancePro Advisors.