Satisfaction Versus Loyalty

Monday, July 16, 2012

Simply telling people that "We have GREAT Customer Service" falls on deaf ears these days- why? Because the easiest thing in the world is to promise a GREAT Customer Service experience!! Do any of these situations sound familiar?

  1. Thank you for calling ABC Company, your business is VERY important to us- please HOLD.
    TRANSLATION: Thank you for calling ABC Company, your business is so important, that we are inadequately staffed to handle your call.
  2. You enter a business and wait to be greeted- several minutes later you are STILL waiting.
    TRANSLATION: We'll get to you when we get to you- we don't really care that you decided to spend your money with us today.
  3. You enter a store and ask the clerk for assistance- you get 'that' look.
    TRANSLATION: You are an idiot for asking that question, don't you have anything better to do than to bother me while I am trying to make it to the end of my day?

It's true- Great Customer Service is a RARE find today; Excellent Customer Service- good luck!

If you are interested in WOWing your customers, you can start with the most basic of rules- the Golden Rule. How would you like to be treated? What would you like to experience? How would you want to feel after your buying/service experience? Then go to work! Elevate the bar personally and employ staff members who care like you do! One of our Stellar Service team members, Denise Walter, shared this with our team a few weeks ago (you can find Jeff Gitomer's book "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless", at Amazon):

Good Morning Team,

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I am reading the book, "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless".

I love this book; the information it contains is knowledge we all know, but sometimes forget as we go through the process of completing our task list, going through our day, etc. One of my goals this week is to share one quick topic (in my own words) from the book via e-mail then let you know how I am going to act on this information. Hopefully you will share your feelings about the topic and how you will take it to heart!!

Satisfaction vs. Loyalty

A satisfied customer is OK with you and your company. Their needs were met, the product(s) and service were OK. They were satisfied with the experience and their overall feeling is somewhere between neutral and positive and they don’t have a negative thought about the company.

A loyal customer leaves an interaction with you feeling great!! Their needs were exceeded as the service experience was great. They are ecstatic with their purchase and they proactively talk about you and your company. They will brag about their experience with you and their feelings about the experience are wonderful!!

I ask every merchant at the end of each call if there is anything else I can do for them. I sometimes get great responses but I think some merchants think this is something they really can’t or won’t take me up on. Going forward instead of saying, “Is there anything else I can do to help you with your merchant account or business” I am going to say, “Is there anything else I can do to make your day fabulous?”

To me the differences between the satisfied and loyal customer is about the same as the difference between a good company and a great company!! The good company grows slowly and might face difficulties in a tough economic climate. There is feeling of satisfaction by the employees but there could also be turn-over and a feeling that “this is just a job”. A great company attracts the best employees and encourages empowerment and creative thinking. The company explodes with enthusiasm and employees feel that working there is a joy!!

I hear TMC employees sharing experiences with merchants and I know that there are many interactions where we have WOWed merchants. What sets us apart from other processors (and other companies) is that we care about those merchant interactions and each other.
This is why TMC is a great company!!

Thank you Denise- we could not agree more!!

As you consider the service level at your company, ask yourself if you are doing what is necessary to create LOYAL customers versus ones that are simply satisfied with the work you have completed for them! The subtle differences will certainly add to your bottom line! (Now we are going to go back to 'work on it' ourselves!!)

 

Cheri Perry 7/16/2012