Bridge the gap by focusing on customer loyalty

Are you making too much money? Do you have too many customers? Do too many of your customers expect to get what they’re paying for? Do they return faulty merchandise and expect a replacement or their money back? Well, I can tell you how to get rid of some of those pesky customers.

Let’s say you have a gas station. When you hear of some sort of conflict in the Middle East, oil prices tend to increase. Even though your tanks may be full of product bought at the lower prices, raise your prices right away. Why not try to make as much as you can? Many of your customers may be too stupid to figure out what you’re doing. Even those who can may not have much choice as your competitors are probably doing the same thing.

Conversely, when oil prices go down, don’t be in any hurry to lower your prices. You can tell your customers you still have expensive gas in your tanks and need to sell that before you can lower your prices. It may not be true, but how will they know?

Let’s say you produce cereal or some other food you ship in a box. Reduce the size of the box and raise the price. Tell the customers it’s new and improved, even if it really isn’t. How will they know? After all, inflationary times call for desperate measures, and many of your competitors may be doing the same thing.

Let’s say you make personal care items like deodorants. Here’s an opportunity. Change several dimensions on the container. You can make it taller and thinner and call it super-sized. Many customers won’t know how to calculate the volume and compare it to your previous containers, which they’ve probably already thrown away. In reality, all they have to do is compare the net weights, but many won’t even think of that, especially if they’ve already discarded their previous products. Besides, it’s “super-sized” … We could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Sadly, these are some of the strategies too many companies are using today.

I recently met a business owner who was bemoaning the lack of customer loyalty. Customers, who had been loyal for decades, were leaving. After a brief discussion, it was apparent he was using a strategy similar to those above. He was systematically taking advantage of the ignorance of his customers, and it seems too many of them just weren’t that stupid.

Rather than criticize his strategy directly, I shared the above examples hoping he would get the point. He never admitted it, but I saw the light in his eyes the minute he realized he was chasing his customers away.

It’s fairly easy to wordsmith these descriptions and make them sound like real benefits to customers, but again, not everyone is that gullible.

Even if his competitors were doing the same thing, and customers really had little choice, they might continue to buy from him until they found an alternative. People do not enjoy being taken advantage of. Additionally, they don’t enjoy being treated as if they’re stupid. True, some may never know, but can you afford to lose the rest of them?

During inflationary times, our costs are increasing, but so are the costs of our customers. Many of them can’t afford substantial price increases, especially when many of their suppliers are raising prices at the same time.

Some companies are smart enough to hold the line on prices, perhaps even decreasing them slightly. They accept narrower profit margins and make up the difference on increased volumes. What they’re really doing is taking market share and building customer loyalty at the same time.

Admittedly, I don’t think I’ve ever met a CEO or manager that was consciously trying to get rid of customers. Everyone seems to realize customers bring the money in, but an awful lot of companies are inadvertently chasing customers away.

So, unless you’re making too much money, take a really careful look at what you’re doing. It’s a lot easier to lose customers than it is to get them back.

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 898-1871, RonBourque@myfairpoint.net or www.bourqueai.com.