The Customer Loyalty Resolution

The 'Customer Loyalty Resolution' is just that – it is a resolve made subconsciously by the consumer, to shop at your store or latterly, to avoid your store. The consumer makes this choice every time he or she steps through your front door. Sadly, it only takes one poor experience at your store to turn a loyal customer into your competitor's loyal customer.

Just how important is that customer loyalty? According to the Pareto Principle, 80 per cent of your retail sales come from 20 per cent of your customers. This means in order to keep your business stable (and hopefully growing), you desperately need those loyal customers. How can you achieve this?

Satisfy the customer

The easiest, and possibly the most affordable way to build customer loyalty is to satisfy the customer. Alas, this is a theory that is easier said than done. Lets face it, customers come in all personalities and with many different needs and objectives and unfortunately some people may just be impossible to please. But this should never stop you from trying. Continually trying to please the customer is often the difference between retailers and absolutely great retailers.

So how does a retailer appease and best please the customer? Begin by implementing the most basic customer service rule: treat the customer the way you wish to be treated when you are shopping.

In order to satisfy most customers and keep them happy, retailers should implement some basic customer service practices in their store. And you need to be sure all of your employees are working towards the goal of pleasing the customer.

• Greet every person as they enter the store.

• Let shoppers know you're always available for help, if needed.

• Offer your expert advice. That's why they shop at your store.

• Provide services beyond the customer's expectations (special orders perhaps?).

• Thank every shopper.

Acknowledge the customer

Do you remember the television show Cheers? Each time George Wendt's character entered the bar, everyone would shout "Norm!" Norm responded with a great big smile, every time. The truth is customers love to be acknowledged. Not only do they like retailers to greet them when they enter the store, but they often feel special if a retailer knows them by name. You cannot be expected to remember each and every customer's name, but whenever possible you should introduce yourself to the customer. It's important to create a dialog and a rapport with your customers. Who knows, perhaps it will turn into a friendly relationship.

Give them a reason to come back

A simple and inexpensive practice that I endorse with all the stores I work with is to offer customers free coffee and tea. Imagine that! Browsing from aisle to aisle with a warm cup of tea, perhaps even staying on and shopping longer than planned. Not only is it an unexpected pleasure, which seems to happen so rarely in retail, but it's also a reward to the customer for choosing you. You can also use this opportunity to introduce them to new types of tea they might not have tried otherwise, or organic, fair trade coffee. They may even deign try soy milk or raw sugar in the coffee. The opportunities and benefits are really quite spectacular.

How about a draw for a free gift? It does not need to be much: a book, a CD, perhaps a basket of goodies, or even chocolates? The choices are endless and the payback is enormous. Unexpected pleasures help to solidify your customers' loyalty and keeps them coming back. Even those customers that didn't win the prize are happier just for the chance. But it is important to make sure the draw is non-affiliated. The moment you turn the event into a purchase requirement or limit it to a certain brand or line, the activity becomes just another marketing ploy instead of a unique retail experience.

Make a positive connection with your customers.

There are a multitude of different activities and events you can create in your store to make the customers' shopping experience a pleasure each time they step through your front doors. And all of these experiences will eventually add up to a positive connection with your customer.

And in order to keep your customers coming back time and time again, you need to challenge yourself and your store to do better. Ideally you will achieve the four standards in the Shangri-La of retailing:

1. Consumer Confidence

Your store consistently delivers on its promise. Without the confidence of customers, customer loyalty is unlikely.

2. Integrity

Your store must always treat the customer fairly and, when a mistake happens (as they are bound to from time to time), the correction needs to exceed the customer's expectations.

3. Pride

Your store should engender a sense of belonging for the customers. It is a place that reflects and reaffirms their values. The customers should always feel a sense of gratification from shopping at your store.

4. Passion

Customers should agree that the world is a better place because your store exists and would feel "something is missing" if it didn't.

And the customer loyalty resolution... that resolve by the customer to shop at your store again? You never ever really know for sure if they are planning to return. That's why we keep trying. •