Comments for "LOYALTY" - the Ultimate Economic Model

Comment on Taking it just a little farther makes all the difference… by Randi Busse

Randi Busse — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:43:44 +0000

Allow me to expand on “a satisfied customer is a former customer waiting to happen”. If all you do is “satisfy” your customer, they will not remain loyal to you. Satisfaction is not enough, and at the first opportunity to jump ship (lower price, better availability, new competitor), customers will leave because they have no real reason to stay. We must “WOW” our customers, exceed their expectations, under promise and over deliver, and let them know how thankful and appreciative we are for their business.

I’ll be happy to explore the topic further as it’s near and dear to my heart!

Comment on Give your CUSTOMERS away… by Dan Waldron

Dan Waldron — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:16:33 +0000

I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

Comment on Starbucks - a lesson we can all learn from… by Tom Lutzenberger

Tom Lutzenberger — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:08:56 +0000

Hi Blaine, great summary of the fall of Starbucks. So much focus on how to be Starbucks, the Emperor seemed to forget he was not wearing any clothes with regards to customer loyalty and retention. Great writeup! We reviewed it on our blog as well.

Comment on Best Practices - Rants and Raves by Amy Hedin

Amy Hedin — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:18:35 +0000

I agree with you, Greg. A company can overlook the idea that just because something is a best practice for one company does not mean it is a best practice for their company. It does not take into account their customers, industry, culture, and so forth. The true best practice is the one that makes the employees and customers thrive and stay LOYAL!

Comment on Business Alliances - Upcoming Seminar by Amy Hedin

Amy Hedin — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:07:49 +0000

Thank you for attending this event, Greg. Also, thank you for recommending me to Lorry Ruml. It was great meeting you and sharing ideas.

Comment on CEI and Moss Adams Team Up by Business Alliances - Upcoming Seminar | Promise-Driven Organizations

Business Alliances - Upcoming Seminar | Promise-Driven Organizations — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:46:21 +0000

[...] Related Posts: CEI and Moss Adams Team Up [...]

Comment on Why do companies ruin a good deed by calling it “a favor” by Greg Lins

Greg Lins — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:58:58 +0000

Interesting perspective on the cellular industry and the airline industry as well. This reminds me of a post about Ryanair, a notoriously low cost European airline.

The blog thread is here: http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010067.php

Ryanair’s website is here: http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/

Ryanair succeeds because it delivers on its Brand Promise. That Promise is “Lowest fares - Guaranteed.” They make no bones about their lousy service, and do everything possible to reduce costs. And consumers buy tickets! Why? Consumers WANT cheap tickets!

To use the cell-phone example, it might require pointing out a little bit just how wealthy the American consumer is. In Philippines, for example, they don’t really worry about their web-package on the phone, they want to be able to TEXT (not call) their family and friends. What do they want? CHEAP TEXT. In Philippines, communication is a commodity in the purest sense.

In the US, we have added various luxuries to our phones that allow for increased DIFFERENTIATION. If there are only a few luxuries that can be tacked on (and let’s face it, a phone is a phone), there is little to differentiate with. So, the cellular industry tries really hard to not be a commodity market, but really, it is. It’s a race to the bottom if I ever saw one.

So why do I choose T-Mobile? Very simple. The service is no worse than any other company, but it’s dirt cheap for 3000 minutes. I’ve tried them all - all of them drop calls; all of them screw up my bill; all of them lose a voice mail from time to time. As Blaine mentioned, they’re ALL lousy.

T-Mobile Promises a good value. I think they do a decent job of differentiating in the only area I care about, since I can see no differentiation anywhere else. Given a race for the bottom and nothing to differentiate services, the only cellular Promise I really care about is “Low Price.”

Comment on Why do companies ruin a good deed by calling it “a favor” by Blaine Millet

Blaine Millet — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:13:58 +0000

Isn’t this the truth - regardless of whether it be in the telecom industry or many other - retail in particular. What we have become is a culture that accepts this kind of treatment, and while we all talk about how injust and wrong it may be, we still allow it to happen.

One of my concerns is that this happens in every mobile telecom company - whether it be Sprint, Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile - there are these types of stories everywhere. I have just two questions. First, why do we accept this type of treatment and continue to buy products and services from them and; Second, when are we, as a population of consumers in one of the most economically powerful nations going to do something about it.

To me, being the “Best of the Worst” is no excuse for success. I mean, being the best in the cellular industry is still some of the worst treatment any of us experience. There are many others that parallel this as well. What about the airline industry. Other than the handful of flights that you take that are actually pleasant, the rest are less than desireable but they are the best you can get in that industry. There are many more that parallel this as well.

Would we buy more, absolutely. The research shows it and your read about it every day, people will spend more and be more loyal if these companies would provide the experience and keep the promises they all have supposedly given us. I know i would.