The constant challenges faced by businesses and organisations today to retain and inspire their customers means we all have to look differently at customer retention. Having successfully built new businesses and worked as an employee at the front end of organisations there is tendency amongst vendors to become a little lethargic or perhaps static.

In effect we sometimes lack fresh ideas, or stimulation, we do the same things everyday, we talk to our customers and offer them similar solutions. So.. how do we remain inspired and lead our customers to greater success?

You might well be paid on time and your accounts are up to date, customers might well say to your face that they are pleased / satisfied with your performance and to be fair you might be doing a great job at retaining your customers. For those of you in the above category well done.

For those of you who are at 70% or less from a customer satisfaction point of view or whose service level agreements are challenging here is some food for thought.

The first question to be asked and answered is 'WHY' – the question 'why' – has the ability tell you as a leader or manager what is the current thinking behind a series of customer activities and the results. It also reminds those of you working frontline with your customers that you should not take anything for granted.Asking why a particular activity is done or why a particular customer was treated in a specific way opens the door to understanding how your business is dealing with your customer or customers!

There are one or two particular customer acquisition and retention frameworks that are brilliant at understanding where you currently stand relationship wise with your customers but also what you will need to do to take your relationships to another level.If you would like to know more email me your details and I will send you the information.

I remember taking over the customer satisfaction relationship management role for a large outsourcer and finding that everybody told me all was well on the account. When I started to delve into the individual relationships, there were people who held differing views on the customer side and were looking for a different type of relationship with us as a major vendor.This was a real problem and resulted in our developing a new relationship management system for uncovering deep-seated views from the customer and being able to evaluate these weekly rather than when a problem reared its ugly head as a major issue.

Winning the hearts and mind of your customer now is more crucial than ever before as the need to design and deliver superior results is ever greater. Technology now makes it easier for customers to shop around, so beware, they might provide a smiling face but that does not necessarily mean they are delighted with your service.

Customers will only stay with you if the cost benefits,time and actual results they receive far outweigh the desire to move vendors or change strategy. However nothing lasts forever so beware of any tell-tale signs and ensure you move in and nip in the bud the slightest signs of vendor lethargy or customer discontent.

Happy hunting

John Norton

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