(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:  
   “Search for the right staff as if your life depends on it…because it does.  You can’t build an extraordinary business by hiring ordinary people.”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   Our staff knows stuff and they hate it when we don’t ask:
    
   Here’s a simple exercise that has worked well for some of our coaching clients.  Ask each of your staff to come up with 3 things that need fixing in your business, or department…and how those things could be fixed, or done better.  Give them a week to think about this.
    
   Then, have a 1-2 hour Session where each Team member shares their list and their ideas.  In some business cultures it works better to do individual 1-on-1 Sessions with each employee.
    
3. ‘Big Maintenance’.   The cost of an oil change for the French-made Bugatti Veyron sports car is $21,000 (US).  How can that be?  It takes 27 hours of labor to access the drain plugs, replace the oil and oil filter.  A set of 4 tires for this car is $40,000…and they must be replaced every 2,500 miles (4,000 KM).
    
   The car itself costs $2.3 million.  Just 450 were produced.  All of them sold.
    
4. Where do all those millions go? According to Wyatt Investment Research, 78% of NFL players and 60% of NBA players file for bankruptcy within five years of retiring. 
    
5. UPS drivers will almost never turn left.  Here’s why.  UPS’s vehicle routing software has determined that turning left is most often a waste of time and fuel because of the time spent waiting for traffic or signals to make the turn.  Left turns also have a higher accident risk. (Note:  For our readers in UK, Australia, NZ, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore, we’re talking about right turns for you).
    
   It’s estimated that since 2004 the ‘no left turn’ rule has saved 11 million gallons of fuel, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 22,000 tonnes and facilitated delivery of 380,000 more packages.
    
   World-class operating efficiency is essential in every business.  So, what study, analysis and decisions are being made in your business to be more efficient and more environmentally responsible?  Small improvements can make a big difference.
    
6. Quote from a CEO after my keynote Session at their annual Management Conference last week, “Donald is our most loved and most often repeated speaker. And now you know why!”
    
   To discuss how I can bring bottom-line management insight, passion and inspiration to your next company, community or Association Conference, I’m easy to find at  donald@donaldcooper.com.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

Customer loyalty is not dead…stop complaining and do the work!

Business people keep complaining that there’s no such thing as customer loyalty any more….and they’re wrong. The truth is that people are desperately searching for products, services, experiences and businesses to be loyal to in every part of their business and their personal lives. To change suppliers of anything from haircuts to heavy equipment is stressful and disruptive and we’d rather find one supplier that we can trust and stick with them. 

You could read books two inches thick on the subject of ‘customer loyalty’ but here’s all you really need to know. “People are loyal to what’s best for them…or what they assume is best for them.”   That’s it.  So, honestly, are you the ‘best’ for your target customers?  Are you the clear and compelling ‘wise choice’? 

If you’re not experiencing the degree of loyalty that you’d like in either your business or your personal life, it’s for one of two simple reasons…

Reason #1:  You’re currently not ‘best’ for anyone.  You’re not the clear ‘wise choice’.  Stop whining that people are different today, take responsibility for the problem and do the work.

Understand who your target customers are and what life’s really like for them. Then, create compelling value and extraordinary experiences that will ‘grab’ those customers, clearly differentiate you from your competitors, make you ‘famous’…and grow your bottom line. Think WOW…think ‘amazing’…think of what’s never been done before.  Remember, mediocrity is no longer an option.

Reason #2:  The 2^nd possibility is that you actually are ‘best’ for a particular group of target customers but, so far, you’ve done a lousy job of communicating all of your compelling value to those specific people.   Once again, you have work to do. Generally, when you’re delivering compelling value, compelling communication should be easy.

What will you do to more effectively communicate your compelling value story to your specific target customers?  And how will you encourage customers and key influencers to tell your story through word-of-mouth and social media?  There’s no point being the best if you’re also the best-kept secret.

Everything we do communicates, so make sure that everything that your target customers see, hear or experience about you communicates your clear and compelling value and brand message.  We are what we communicate.

So, customer loyalty is not dead. Stop whining, create innovative and compelling value and then effectively communicate that in everything you do.  What will you do, starting right now, to be the clear and compelling ‘wise choice’ for your target customers…and to make sure they know that?

That’s it for this week…

Live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper