Dear Valued Customer

May 12, 2008 on 7:57 am | In Advertising, Branding, Customer Retention, Customer Service, Marketing | 2 Comments

OK, I’m banning this phrase – “Dear Valued Customer” – from marketing. If I was really so valued you would know my name and use it in communications to me. Doesn’t that give you a warm, fuzzy when you see it on communications from the bank, the power company, the cable provider, or whomever?

These are the companies looking for higher customer satisfaction scores, not greater customer loyalty. “Harry,” you’re probably saying, “what’s the difference?” They are world’s apart.

A satisfied customer, according to author Jeffrey Gitomer in his book Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, is one that felt “OK about dealing with you. Their needs were met. The product was OK. The service was OK…their overall feeling about you is between neutral and positive, and their experiences with you have not been negative.”

A loyal customer, Gitomer continues, “feels great about dealing with you…They will proactively refer someone to you. Their overall feeling about you is wonderful and their experiences with you have been memorable.” Now, that’s what I’m talking about.

Guess what happens when you have loyal customers. Research indicates that a 5 percent increase in customer loyalty can increase profitability by up to 85 percent. Do you want satisfaction or loyalty? Then, call you customers by name and treat them as individuals.

We’ll be talking more about this subject. Thank you, valued reader.

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