Speaker 1: Hi, Shep Hyken here, customer service and experience expert and today I'm going to discuss 5 ways to create customer loyalty. The concept of repeat business and ultimately customer loyalty is huge. A small increase in loyalty, just as little as 1 or 2 percent, can have a dramatic positive impact to your top and bottom line numbers. So, with that in mind, here are 5 ideas, a few of them revisited from the past as well as some new ones that will help you create that coveted loyal customer. Number 1, don't confuse a loyalty program with a marketing program. The first thing that pops into my head when I'm asked about loyalty programs is the mistake that many companies make when designing a loyalty program. Some companies think they have a loyalty program, but in actuality, it's a marketing program and there's a big difference. If, when you take away the perks and the rewards, you may lose the customer. And if that happens, then what you have is a marketing program. The best companies have loyal customers because of the overall experience, not just the perks and rewards. Number 2, create an emotional connection. There's a big difference between satisfied customers and loyal customers. Satisfactory is a rating, but loyalty is an emotion. Find out a way to connect with your customers, make them feel special, thank them for the business, treat them like they want to be treated. Number 3, personalization and customization. The concept of the personalized experience is a hot, hot, hot topic these days. With all the data out there that we're able to gather on individual customers, there's no reason we can't give a customer a more personalized and tailored experience. Number 4, create confidence. The old saying goes, if people want to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Now, the knowing and liking is easy. The trust is the hard part. Earn the customer's trust by creating a consistent and predictable, above average experience all of the time. Customers want to know what to expect, no surprises. Confidence is key. When they trust you, they'll continue to do business with you. And finally, number 5, break down customer loyalty into bite-sized chunks. Most people think customer loyalty is about a lifetime. Well, it's not. The goal is about a lifetime, and a lifetime is a very, very long time. So, how do you get customers to be loyal to us for a lifetime? I mean, that's huge. Let's make it easier. Rather than a lifetime, focus on the next time, every time. So, ask yourself what I call the customer loyalty question. What are you doing right now to make sure the customer will come back the next time he or she needs whatever it is that I sell? Think about the next time, every time, and it may just turn into a lifetime. So, to wrap all this up, the value of customer loyalty is obvious. Loyal customers not only do more business with the companies they're loyal to, they'll also spend more each time they do business. And when they're loyal, they talk. Word-of-mouth marketing is the best marketing there is. Combine the value of the lifetime customer with the value of their recommendations, and the payoff to your customer service and experience efforts are huge. Well, I hope you enjoyed this short lesson. Please be sure to visit my website, which is www.hyken.com. There you'll find more information about my speaking programs, as well as hundreds of customer service articles that you can read and share with your colleagues. Thank you very much for tuning in. This is Shep Hyken reminding you to Always be Amazing.