Love and Loyalty

Found this great article that is a natural fit to this blog, so I thought I would share here as well:

Love is the most powerful force in marketing. It’s what drives loyalty, excitement, and — ultimately — conversations. You have to work to earn it every day. Three people to focus on:

1> Employees2> Customers3> Competitors

1> Employees
You can’t have genuine, sustainable word of mouth if your employees don’t buy into it. If you haven’t earned their trust and respect, how can you expect them to earn it from customers? Earn their love by empowering them, by soliciting (and listening to) their feedback, and by celebrating big when they do amazing things for your customers.

2> Customers
Obvious, perhaps, but few brands strive for this deep of a relationship with their customers. The best word of mouth marketers — the ones we all respect and admire — they’re aiming for love. Most of your competitors are striving for “satisfied” — you can aim bigger than that.

3> Competitors
You can’t solve every problem for every prospect — and neither can your competitors. Focus on those you can do fantastic work for and send the rest to someone you believe in. Both the customer and your peers will love you for it, and you’ll see the benefits when the referrals start coming your way.

Check our more articles like this at http://gaspedal.com/blog/

Anticipate the Customers Needs

Recently my kiddos and I were at our favorite fast food restaurant Chick-Fil-A. Now Chick-Fil-A is our favorite for a variety of reason which all are based predominantly on experience, but this visit stood out.

After we had finished eating our number five eight packs, and playing on the clean (very important to me) playscape we gathered our belongs to head home. About 2 seconds later, I realized that it was raining. Super annoyed by the fact that my umbrella was on the front seat of my car, I began to prepare the kids for the run to the car in the rain. “Now Colin, you are going to go first, then Sissy….”

As we approached the door I noticed a Chick-Fil-A employee was waiting to walk us to our car with a golf sized umbrella. Now this may seem like a small thing, but to I was blown away. I had never had someone prepared to walk me to my car in the rain at a fine dining establishment let alone a fast food chain.

Needless to say, they have once again reminded me why I am willing to pay $8 for small box of chicken. I have said it before and I will say it again, I love Chick-Fil-A!

Take away: Anticipate the needs of your customers. By showing them that you have considered and are responding to their needs you will demonstrate just how important they are to you.