Do You Know, Like and Trust Your Customers?

Customer Loyalty

The old saying goes something like this:

Customers want to do business with people they know, like and trust.

Business is all about relationships.  At a minimum, the customer expects, at least hopes, to do business with an organization they can count on.  They pay good money for goods and services we provide.  Don’t we want our happy and even loyal customers to have the feeling that they “know, like and trust” us?

However, maybe we should consider looking at this from the opposite direction.  Do you know, like and trust your customers?  As just mentioned, you want them to know, like and trust you, so aren’t they entitled to the same?  You want them to be loyal to you, so do you act and behave in a way that the customer can feel a sense of loyalty from you?

I am the customer.

I want you to know me. I want you to know who I am when I walk through your door.  I want you to recognize me.  I want you to remember what I bought or ordered the last time I was here.

I want you to like me.  Sure, you probably like that I give you my hard earned dollars for whatever it is that you sell, but I want to feel as if you genuinely appreciate me for the business that I give you.

I want you to trust me.  I’m not going to steal from you.  I don’t want you to make rules, policies and procedures that make it difficult for me to do business with you – just because a very few people you may have done business with in the past have taken advantage of you.  I want those policies to remind you that most customers, like me, are honest and good people.

When I go to a favorite restaurant, the owner knows me.  He may even remember where I sat and what I ate the last time I was there.  He takes interest in me.  It’s obvious.

When I call American Airlines, because I’ve filled out my profile on their website, which includes my phone number, their automated greeting says, “Welcome back Shep.”  I’m now engaged at a higher level.

Amazon.com’s website remembers what I have previously bought and lets me know what else I may be interested in purchasing.  Their system was built to take care of me, because they know me.

With the use of CRM software, technology, or just a good old fashioned memory, you can make a customer feel like you know them, like them and even trust them.

When both parties know, like and trust each other, there is now the mutual respect that it takes to create the all-important and coveted loyal relationship.