Do These 3 Things and You Will Build Customer Relationships and Earn Customer Loyalty	Print

 

Based on the research my team and I have done, we’ve found that customer loyalty is achieved when three criteria are met. The customer service experience must:

 

1.    Meet the needs of the customer

2.    Be easy

3.    Be enjoyable

 

If the customer’s needs are met, the company is easy to do business with and the customer enjoys the experience, the customer is likely to be loyal. Not only will the customer most likely be loyal, but they are also likely to share their positive experience with a friend, colleague or family member.

 

I recently became a loyal customer and avid fan of a grocery delivery service. As both a consumer and a researcher, I have studied how this company has earned my loyalty by meeting the three criteria for customer loyalty. Using my my experience with this company, I will illustrate how any organization in any industry can build customer relationships by doing these three simple things.

 

1. Meet the needs of the customer

 

My need was to prepare healthy, gourmet, jaw-dropping good vegetarian meals for my family. I also wanted to reduce the number of times per week we dined out and the amount of time I spent at the grocery store. Since I’ve been grocery delivery service provides recipes and groceries, we almost never eat out, and I only have to pick up a few items at the grocery store each week. Most importantly, I am preparing truly delicious and tasty meals for my family. My needs as a customer are 100% met.

 

 

2. Be easy

 

Signing up for the grocery delivery service was easy. With one click I was able to select the vegetarian option, and a box of recipes and perfectly proportioned ingredients for vegetarian meals was delivered to my door the following Thursday. The service experience has been easy.

 

The recipes are step-by-step, include graphics and are simple to follow. I signed up for weekly meal delivery, but I can't always get the weekly meals due to business travel and occasional vacations. When I need to pause grocery delivery, all I have to do is click a button on the company’s app or website that says "pause." It takes two seconds. Easy as pie.

 

 

3. Be enjoyable

 

My grocery delivery service sends me easy to follow recipes, all of the ingredients, and because the ingredients are perfectly proportioned, there is no waste. I enjoy not having to go to the grocery store as often. I enjoy not spending much money eating out. I enjoy cooking gourmet meals that satisfy my family and result in lavish compliments.

 

After a few months of experiencing enjoyment, ease of use and having my needs met, this company has won my loyalty. The formula for customer loyalty is simple: meet your customers’ needs, be easy to do business with, and make sure your customers enjoy their experience with you, your service or your products. When you do, loyalty will become a part of “the way business is done around here.”