IIPTF PET FESTIVAL PUNE Vol 12 Issue No 10 October 2019 | Page 39

“A well-organised customer relationship
program is based on mutual trust. The
customer should trust the company and its
brand and vice versa. Commitment is also
important in this dynamic. The customer
must feel that all of their needs are covered
by the organisation and be able to identify
with the brand.”
-Henrik Salzgeber, CEO of mission-one GmbH,
responsible for marketing and sales
Customers’ emotional connection with a brand has some of the strongest infl uence
on loyalty (Forrester’s Customer Experience Index). Making the experience a
memorable one and fueling that emotional connect will lead to either short-term
or long-term customer loyalty. This will support the brand in gaining competitive
advantage which will help itself to distinguish from a sea of competitive brands
and establish itself as less replaceable.
Trust breeds trust – a pathway to loyalty
Another contributing factor to customer loyalty is ‘trust’, as it is the most
fundamental ingredient for building brand loyalty. 90 percent of the customers
say that they are more likely to be loyal to an organisation that they can trust.
Loyalty is best cultivated in non-transactional ways; customers would pay
more for products or services that they can trust or believe in. They are usually
motivated by non-transactional rewards; products or services that save them
time or are more convenient. This means that customers value experiences more
than the transaction. The organisation should be focused on the entire customer
experience and not just ‘an experience’, to cultivate loyalty.
Converting data to analytics – connecting the dots
There has been a huge shift in the customer behaviour patterns, brands need
to rethink the customer decision journey. Today, customers are more likely to
buy a product or try a service based on social media recommendations. The
traditional word-of-mouth has been replaced and the online customer reviews
have taken over. They will trust these reviews as much as they will trust a
recommendation from a friend. These customers’ experiences need to be
aligned with analytics to optimise ROIs - returns on investments.
The new journey can be defi ned in four simple steps –
DISCOVER • Assess and evaluate shop
• Analytics include segmentation, lead scoring and acqusition
modelling
EXPLORE • Reaserch the reviews
• Analytics include offer optimisation and marketing mix model
PURCHASE
ENGAGE
• Buy
• Analytics include propensity modelling and valuation modelling
• Write a review
• Analytics include identify cross-sell and up-sell opportunities,
create lifetime value models
Customer loyalty, the biggest
pay off
Unquestionably, more revenue can
be generated by returning and loyal
customers compared to fi rst-time
buyers. Customers that repetitively
purchase from the same shop spend
on average seven times as much
as impulse buyers or fi rst-time
customers. Digital customers value
the attributes that have always been
vital to customer loyalty – positive
experience,
appreciation
and
loyalty benefi ts. However, the most
important aspect to a successful
relationship is emotion – the trust
factor.
Organisations in this age of
digitalisation must offer their
customers a journey that creates
positive and memorable experiences
related to the brand. This should be
initiated way before the customer
has the intention to buy or has no
intention of buying. An example
of this would be when a potential
customer is looking for indulgence
and wishes to fi nd something they
can emotionally connect with hence,
making the buying decision and
returning to buy again.
List of references is available
on request from the author
([e-mail])
* Ms. Divya Pathak is the Deputy Director
of RIG Group of Institutes..
October 2019 • Vol. XII • Issue 10 • Noida
39
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