A recent article in theloyaltytreatment newsletter created by synovate Loyalty was titled Make in Memorable, Creating a good memory is perhaps the most important ingredient in building customer loyalty.

Dr. Crosby and Ms. Johnson (who I worked with a couple of business lives ago) showed the importance of customer loyalty and bottom line performance:

• Companies who enjoy high customer satisfaction have above average stock performance and lower risk
• High customer-loyalty vendors averaged a twelve percent average operating margin, while vendors with a low level of customer loyalty averaged a negative eleven percent margin
• Companies who lead their industry in customer loyalty grow twice as fast as their competitors… AT LOWER COST

Both those folks are smart.

However, the co-authors aren’t finished yet.  As experts in the customer experience, synovate explains how poorly companies are delivering on their promises:

•  Seventy percent of customers state that poor “service” caused them to take their business to a competitor while business managers overwhelmingly believed price was the main reason for leaving
• While eighty percent of companies believe they provide superior customer experiences, only one-tenth of customers believe the same… just eight percent

It’s not the product.  Not the quality.  Not the convenience.  Not the price.  Not the ease of use.  Not the value for the money.  Not the delivery.  Not the availability.

It’s the after-sales-care-and-support provided by…

… are you ready…

YOUR EMPLOYEES!  Yes, the employees.  The folks tasked with providing that excellent customer experience.  As you know (’cause I say it all the time)…

Customers buy products from your company but form relationships with your people.

Ensure that your people are engaged with your company, and your customers will feel the same.

A = B = C.