In case you haven’t heard (and I hadn’t until just this morning), ‘Sex and the City’s‘ Carrie Bradshaw is no longer a loyal Mac user. That’s right, she made one of the toughest switches known to man, she changed operating systems!
From 1998 to 2004, 94 episodes in all, Ms. Bradshaw, arguably the most famous single women in the history of history was fiercely loyal to her MacBook.
As evidenced by her new commercial for HP she is not only no longer a Mac user, but she is already ecstatic with her new Windows machine. It’s almost like watching her break-up with a long-time boyfriend; not only will she get a new man quickly, but he will be so over-the-top wonderful that she will shout it to the rooftops. All in the effort to show how ‘happy’ she is now (making sure the ex hears it, of course).
How can you retain loyalty among your followers?
Now that you are the proud owner of this useless knowledge, the question is ‘what can you do with it?’
Well, you can start by taking an inventory of your customer base and examining who your best customers are. The tendency will be to look at those big ticket clients; what we want to examine is the “Longtail” of your customer list. Which customers have been quietly faithful to you? The customer that consistently places their orders is your tortoise in this race. That unassuming client is the one I want you to focus on.
Let’s go back to the boyfriend/girlfriend scenario – make a surprise call to at least three of your smaller, but loyal, customers today. Just a simple “Hello, thank you for your business.” No selling! Resist the temptation to engage them in your most recent promotion. Just be thoughtful and appreciative, keep it simple and let your gratitude be the only reason for your call. There is a very good chance that your competition is not taking the time after orders or between orders to say kind things.
Why am I focusing on my smaller clients?
The chances are good that you already show a great amount of ‘love’ to your big customers, if you aren’t then you better start. The reason we need to take an inventory of those customers that are below the fold is that you may not realize when they shift their loyalty to your competition. If you ignore enough of them and fail to notice their departure, eventually they’ll all be gone.
Your customers and your bottom-line will thank you. The last thing you want to see is your customer out one night with your competitor.
Take these steps to be a better supplier/distributor:
- Take an inventory of your customers, look at loyalty over dollar amount
- Call at least three of them today, repeat tomorrow with three more
- No selling!
- Call your mother, she misses you!