#4: Ten ways for turning the most demanding customers into most delighted.

Kelly Mooney wrote these Ten Demandments: Rules to Live By in the Age of the Demanding Customer by . I felt they were worth sharing with you.
Beyond all the hype about delighting customers by meeting and exceeding their expectations, is the simple reality that most businesses just don't come close to knowing what customers care about. Today's consumers expect more and tolerate less, in part because they have so many options. With the ever-expanding explosion of information readily available and easily accessible via the Internet, modern consumers are able to research and comparison shop an endless array of both products and services from the comfort of their own homes or offices. Welcome to the age of the demanding consumer.

Mooney's Ten Demandments for turning the most demanding consumers into the most delighted customers are:

1. Earn my trust through respect, integrity, advocacy and quality.
2. Inspire me through immersive experiences, motivating messages and related philanthropy.
3. Make it easy with simplicity, speed and usefulness.
4. Put me in charge of making choices and give me control.
5. Guide me with expert advice, education and information.
6. Give me 24/7 access, from anywhere, at anytime.
7. Get to know me — listen, learn and study me, the real consumer, not just data.
8. Exceed my expectations with uncommon courtesies and surprising services.
9. Reward me with points programs, privileges of access or other worthwhile extras.
10. Stay with me with follow through and meaningful follow-up.

A detailed description of four of the key demandments follows in this series of blog entries. Mooney provides specific action items you can use to tackle the challenges of the ever-demanding customer and secure your company's future.

Demandment #10: Stay With Me
The final demandment brings these guidelines full circle, with the concepts of follow-through, follow-up, and maintaining a following — even during the quiet periods when companies and consumers are apart. One of the most difficult demandments to achieve, Stay With Me is the most open-ended and the least defined in terms of specific time-periods, traditional tactics and experience drivers.

At the same time, it's one of the most critical elements for success as it's all about retention — keeping the customers inside the loyalty loop as long as possible. Wrap things up neatly and beautifully and you'll set the stage for further interactions. Research indicates that improving retention rates can increase profitability by 25 to 50 percent.

In order to improve your customer retention rates, Mooney presents five methods from the consumer's point of view.

1. It's not over until it's over. Make returns hassle-free, including gift returns, and issue immediate credit. Stores such as Sears, Old Navy and The Gap offer gift receipts, as well as providing 30-day return policies.
2. Keep your promises. Make promises and honor your warrantees without hassle or delay.
3. Give me an out. Clearly communicate easy options for customers to cancel transactions or relationships with your company.
4. Keep up with me. Provide a way for consumers to easily update their information, lodge complaints or offer suggestions. Offer user-friendly websites that promote contact with your company. Quarterly newsletters, such as Ford's No Boundaries or Nike's NikeGoddess, which offer information based on the target audience's interests help maintain relationships.
5. Be there for me. Evolve to meet customers' ongoing needs through innovative products and unrelenting helpfulness. With the aging population and changing demographics, a hip clothing company, for example, could market roomier yet stylish clothing to accommodate the "middle-aged spread." Reinvent your relevancy in consumer lives and find ways to celebrate the things that matter to you and your customers.

One iconic American company that embodies the concepts of retention with persistent and persuasive branding is Hershey's. This simple, inexpensive chocolate has emerged as a brand with a legacy, a destination and an experience. Consumers can't pay for groceries, buy gas, or rent a video without being tempted by a Hershey Bar or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. There are Hershey's Kisses wrapped in colorful foil to match every holiday and season. Guests can visit the spa at the Hotel Hershey, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and be treated to whipped cocoa baths and chocolate fondue wraps. Visitors can wander down the streets of Hershey, named Chocolate and Cocoa Avenues, explore the Hershey Amusement Park, and delight in the Chocolate World Visitor's Center, topped off with free samples.

What say you? Comments? Ideas?


Eric Fraterman
eric@customerfocusconsult.com
www.customerfocusconsult.com