What creates customer loyalty in an instant?

Service. The type of service that you give your customers determines whether they will look for a new provider or stick with you. How is your customer service?

I know, this all sounds so basic so what’s the point? In the last week, I have experienced fantastic service and I’ve experienced service that made me so frustrated I wanted to throw up.

You see in today’s economy customer satisfaction is not enough - it’s all about the loyalty you build with your customers.

Recipient of Great Customer Service and Care

I had to take my car into be serviced, because the dreaded service engine soon light came on. I was in an accident 2 months ago and my fear was it was accident related. I schedule the appointment and arrived at the dealership. They ran diagnostics on the car and told me it looked like they would need to do a smoke test, rather than make me wait they reset the light told me I’d be fine and just call them when it came back on and we would arrange the service. They would also make arrangements with the body shop that fixed it, since it seemed to be accident related, to make sure I did not have to pay out of pocket to have it repaired. The light came back on 3 days later. They scheduled a time for me to bring the car in and would give me a loaner so I wouldn’t have to drive a rental car. I’m not a snob, but come on a BMW is not a Ford Focus. I dropped the car off on the designated day and my service advisor said that he’d call me later that day when the car was ready. He called at about 3:00 PM in the afternoon and told me they would not be done that day — but he had good news the cause of the “service engine soon” light would be covered under warranty. He called the next morning at 9:00 a.m. to tell me the car could be picked up. I arrived the pick up my car, it has been washed, cleaned and ready to go. There was no wait, it was as easy as exchanging the loaner car for my car, signing the paper work and driving back to the office.

Truth is the BMW dealership makes me want to always own a BMW. They’ve earned my loyalty. They always take care of me and make things easy for me and my schedule. Every time I leave the dealership I’m proud of my car because they deliver it in tip-top shape and looking beautiful. They simply go out of their way to create a fantastic customer experience.

Ready for my bad experience?

I purchase software all the time to stay on top of the trends and make sure that I’m being as efficient as I can be. I purchased a software item recently and it did not work according to what was advertised. I needed the software to complete a project and since it did not work I had to find another solution. This caused me to have to purchase another product. I wrote the first company regarding my disappointment, was answered 72 hours later with suggestions on fixing the problem. How many of you could wait 72 hours to solve a problem? I couldn’t which is why I had to purchase the second software product. I asked for a refund, explained the issue and the time sensitivity for a solution and I was told I would not get a refund — that was not their policy. I will not purchase another software product from them, I will not refer their products to any one and more than likely I’ll detour any one from purchasing from them. They’ve not only lost any chance at creating loyalty with a customer, but they’ve created the worst case scenario which is negative word-of-mouth marketing.

What can you do to improve your service and create customer loyalty?

Go out of your way and create an experience with each and every customer. Make them feel special not like a number. Do you need a little added proof that it’s worth it. Consider the benefits that come with loyal customers:

• Repeat purchases
• Increase the volume of what they purchase from you
• They will buy across your product lines
• They will excitedly refer people to you
• Your competition won’t be able to snag them
• They will always give you the benefit of the doubt even when something goes wrong

Do you have a story to share about your loyalty to a specific company? I’d love to hear it.

Times are changing. I read another article today that by the end of the year The New York Times will cut 100 newsroom positions. I write for About.com, which is a company owned by The New York Times, so this news saddened me.

I’m fortunate that I started in the online industry in 1997. As such, I’ve always adopted new media easily, but I think it’s because that’s where I began my career.

I’ve met with general managers of newspapers, editors and writers — our discussions always end up around the lack of adoption of new media when it was introduced by traditional newspapers. Unfortunately, those same newspapers are feeling the pinch during this time.

I’m not saying that traditional media is a dead-end, but let’s think about it. When was the last time you went out into the driveway to pick up your daily newspaper? When was the last time you pulled out the yellow pages to look up a telephone number?

We all knew that the Internet would change our daily lives — some of us slow to adopt, but now we can’t imagine living without it. There are many people who could handle a cable outage easier than an Internet outage. Need proof? Turn off your computer for 24 hours — cut off your access to the Internet. Did you just have a panic attack thinking about it? I did.

I find it amazing that companies still often depend upon the traditional means of marketing and look at the new media options as alternatives. They will pay more for a one time advertisement in a magazine than they will on their website design. They will seek out a radio spot before measuring the impact social media could have on their business. Do you see my point?

Put your business into check.

• How is your website? Does it reflect your business accurately? What message does it reflect when it comes to professionalism?
• Are you writing a blog and interacting with potential customers or is your website static and dull?
• Are you doing search engine marketing? How are you ranking when customers type in keywords? Are you showing up?
• What about social media? Have you dipped your toe in the water? If for no other reason than to monitor your online reputation and protect your brand?

Don’t abandon the traditional vehicles of marketing, but be sure to integrate it with online marketing and new media options; otherwise you may end up struggling like the newspapers are today.

Late last year I wrote about a coffee shop near me called Kona Coffee. I had no idea how they would make it. Access was difficult and hours were sparse. One morning I ventured to Kona Coffee because the line at Starbucks was too long and I had to have my morning java fix quickly.

I had no idea that the coffee I was about to acquire would enlighten me on how this coffee shop would make it despite the the predicting odds.

The coffee gained my loyal morning visit and the guy that greets me with a smile every morning sealed the deal. There was a time that I could walk into Starbucks and the barista would begin to prepare my morning jolt. As time went on Starbucks became too busy to provide the personal touch and well the coffee compared to that of Kona was simply not up to par.

I wish Kona would expand their hours to include Monday morning before 10 a.m., but until he does I’ve vowed my loyalty from Tuesday through Saturday.

The little guy greets me every morning with a smile and the question “Your regular?” I simply nod. Last Saturday he even gave my son a free vanilla frappucino…now that’s service! Not the “free” part because I didn’t mind paying, but the recognition of loyalty to his shop and the occassional perk that goes a long with that.

Keep it up Kona and you’ll continue to expand your hours and your staff so that you aren’t the only guy behind the counter!

Yes…I’m a Starbucks junkie I’ll admit it, but I won’t agree with their recent pull back of a coupon promotion that consumers could redeem for a free iced coffee.

While reviewing marketing news today that hit my inbox I came across an article that stated that Starbucks is withdrawing a promotional offer for a free iced coffee. This coupon was given to a number of employees and the employees could then forward it to family and friends.

Starbucks reasoning: It got out of hand. (otherwise known as it was costing too much money)

Let’s be honest here. There comes a time to take into consideration that perhaps what a company does may lose the loyalty of consumers. How many people will walk in to redeem the coupon and be told “Oops! We goofed that coupon is no longer valid.” Plenty!

Will this leave a bad taste in the mouth of the consumer? Absolutely! Will they go elsewhere? Perhaps, but the real question is “Has Starbucks lost the understanding of the importance when it comes consumer satisfaction and retention?”

Truthfully..from a marketing standpoint they should have honored the coupon anyway and cut their loses rather than upset faithful coffee drinkers. There are coffee chains popping up all over. I’m not just seeing Starbucks on every corner now. it’s time for them to realize they do indeed have competition and perhaps underestimating that competition would explain why Starbucks posted its weakest monthly same-store sales increase since 2001.

Your thoughts?