Recognise and reward your customers

How to keep the customers you want and say “goodbye” to the ones you don’t. Mary Naylor and Susan Greco provide the tips

Best customers, like star employees, need to be recognised on a consistent basis. All too often the customers who keep our businesses thriving do not receive the appreciation they deserve. A friend of mine once gave me a popular book on dating called Are You the One for Me? As I was reading it, I couldn’t help thinking about business. In the pages of a self-help book I could see parallels to how we get to know our customers. The parallels are not only amusing but also highly instructive. You know, at the start of a personal relationship, we’re wined and dined. That first six months or a year it’s all very magical and happy. But in truly successful marriages over time, there’s a conscious awareness of the need to continually show appreciation and to communicate. There are just amazing parallels in the business world. I always say we pay the price to capture a customer but not to keep the customer.

During the go-go start-up years at Capitol Concierge, the need to ramp up revenues took precedence over everything else. We were in a race with a new competitor to land new building accounts for the concierge service. For many entrepreneurs and salespeople, the thrill of closing a sale is exhilarating. And so it was for us. While our existing clients were receiving super service from their onsite concierge, they were not getting the attention they needed from me and my management team. We were a very small team and it was all we could do to keep our heads above water. Then one day during a networking event I was attending for property managers, a valued client commented that she had not heard from me in a long time. This client had several new buildings to send our way but was concerned these buildings would not get the attention needed. This encounter was a wake-up call for me, reminding me how important current clients are to fuelling growth.

Such experiences, as well as the results of our study of current clients’ contribution to revenue and profit, led us to develop the tools, communication activities, and support mechanisms that we use to ensure the majority of our time and resources are allocated to those who matter most—our current customers. I show customers they count by devoting more staff time to them, but there are many little ways to show we care as well. Just as our concierges used the client profile form to track the birthdays and unique interests of their individual customers, the management team also started to collect the same type of information from our property management clients. We’ve learned that our clients’ hobbies and interests are wide ranging, from duck hunting and golf to fine wines and gardening.

Customer chemistry

The extra effort to send an interest-related gift versus a “one size fits all” raises the customer-chemistry bar. John W was a golf enthusiast and we sent him a golf-theme clock, for example, on the anniversary of our contract. CeCe B, an existing client, was always sending us referrals for new buildings. To express our appreciation, we sent her a beautiful bouquet because she loves getting flowers.

Simple gestures related to what you have learned about your customers have a powerful chemistry-building effect. You demonstrate that you value the relationship, you are paying attention to personal details, and you remain top of mind with your very best customers. In addition, we are always looking at our product and service line to develop extra touches. The frontline team is by far the best source for creative ideas.

Customers need recognition

Why don’t companies take the time to do something special for customers after the wine-and-roses stage? It’s simple: they don’t know how to quantify the payoff of such ongoing efforts. However, if you’ve taken the tune to identify your best customers, you do have a way of measuring your return on investment. Share of customer is a powerful measuring tool in addition to repeat business, order frequency, and sales per customer.

Your ability to effectively reward customers stems naturally from the process of (1) identifying tiers of customers and degrees of loyalty; (2) training employees to truly listen to customers; and (3) developing a top-of-mind marketing plan that stresses one-to-one communications. Customer recognition, then, is the culmination of all your efforts to get closer to your most valuable customers. It’s the final step in building customer chemistry.

How many ways can you say “I love you”? Customer rewards come in a variety of forms. First and foremost, don’t forget to simply say thank you after each and every sale. In between sales there are numerous ways to let customers know you’re thinking of them and are thankful for the referrals they send your way.

Customer loyalty programmes are another popular way to give something back to customers. While you can’t buy loyalty—and shouldn’t waste your prime trying to—you can reward it when you see it. After all, why should price shoppers get all the prizes? Be sure you’re not inadvertently rewarding customers who only buy from you when you’re offering a discount.

What’s more, a customer loyalty programme can include extra services or perks as well as frequent-buyer discounts. Since no two customers are exactly the same, cutting-edge loyalty programmes strive to customise the rewards. If you can somehow personalise your own customer recognition programme, you’ll no doubt be ahead of the competition. In many cases creating personal perks is a matter of responding to customers’ personal preferences.

Of course, gifts, notes, discounts, and other extras cannot in and of themselves build strong, lifelong customer relationships. However, once you have sown the seeds for a relationship, customer recognition is kind of like Miracle-Gro; it helps the relationship bloom a whole lot faster.

Finally, reward customers for choosing you by devoting yourself to continuous improvement. Consider upgrading your computer system, for example, or enhancing customer service so you can better handle special requests and fast turnaround times. Feedback from your best customers will help you prioritise your ongoing efforts to run a better operation. When you make customers pan of your quality control team, you are recognising their value to your company.

Simple ways to show appreciation

• “Saw this and thought of you” cards: Print a supply of cards with this message and attach to a newspaper or magazine article related to a customer’s interests. Mail or personally deliver the information. This technique keeps your employees looking out for customers’ best interests and gets you in front of customers in a non-sales manner.
• Referral tbank-you gift: Every time you receive a referral send a bouquet of flowers or other noticeable but simple gift.
• Recognise positive feedback: Whenever your company receives a letter from a client commending an employee’s performance, always contact the customer immediately and thank him or her for taking the time to send a positive word. Typically, most companies drop every-thing to respond to negative feedback. Remember that customers complain more than they praise. When a customer takes the time to extend kind words, it is imperative to respond and share the feedback with your entire staff.
• Special-occasion reminders: By tracking key dates for customers, you can send special-occasion reminder postcards. You may also be able to make purchase recommendations related to the event.
• Personaliaed gifts: Noting customer birthdays and sending gifts tailored to their interests and hobbies helps you deliver the personal touch. Every contact provides an opportunity to discover preferences.
• Special-offer certificates that are personalised based on the client’s interests or purchase history.
• Customer testimonial features: Feature customers in your newsletter often.
• Customer hotlines: Provide best customers with special telephone numbers and access channels for after business hours. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than not being able to get assistance after hours when something important is at stake.
• Reward a significant order: At some companies any purchase more than a certain amount automatically triggers a gift with the order. Unexpected freebies are appreciated all the more.
• Handwritten thank-you notes: Hands down the most powerful recognition tool in this age of the electronic pen. Write the notes as orders are fulfilled.

Excerpt from ‘Customer Chemistry’ by Mary Naylor and Susan Greco. Reproduced with permission © 2003, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited