Lifetime Loyalty: Do you have it?

[scslawin]

This forum thread discusses the SitePoint article 'Lifetime Loyalty: Do you have it?' by Steven C. Slawin.

"How much does loyalty cost, and what does it return? Steve looks at a real life example of customer dis-service. Learn how easy and inexpensive it can be to retain valuable customers for a lifetime of loyalty."

[rsdl]

no, no i don't have it.

[EreBuS]

I HAVE IT! and it kicks mucho ****!
sorry.. im just excited that im an elite seller now!

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller4127.html

[JamesAZ]

These days, people get so hyped on self-respect, self-confidence, and self-esteem that they forget about customers. The trite saying "The customer is always right" really has some wisdom behind it.

You'll get ripped off for a few bucks here and there by customers taking advantage of you -- but you'll also gain the respect and repeat business of many more customers, not to mention word of mouth business.

I just shipped out a nice gift basket for a client who recently sent payment for a small website my company did for them. If you can give them good work for a good price, with memorable service on top of that, you'll go far in business.

[dethfire]

I can luckly say I have it. Nearly all my mods have been with me for 3 years and most of my members are oldies too.

[zannie]

Yes, I feel that I have it! My message board hasn't been live for long (6 months) but prior to the message board, we had a mailing list for about 6 months and prior to that, the core group in my forum have known eachother online for several years. So, even though my forum hasn't been around long, I think that I have several lifetime members!

[ChrisRoss]

I deal with many businesses online and I know very few that have it. It doesn't take much for me to pick up my business and move else where. Customer service is key.... I don't care who you are or what you think you know. My self... I'm not sure I have it but I try! Many internet people don't realize this, the internet is not as big as people think, cross the wrong customer and the whole net will here about it.

[samsm]

Dredging this back up.... I recently had an experience with an online discount retailer that made me recall this thread.

I ordered a book and proceeded all the way through the sign-up account creation process and right down to the "click here to finalize your order". The next page did not load. Ok, no big deal, these things happen. I fired off an email to customer service on a Friday morning asking what I should do (didn't want to try again and maybe get charged twice).

They didn't get back to me until Monday. Too late, I had already ordered the book from another retailer on Saturday afternoon. They lost me before the first sale.

A couple things struck me about this situation. One, the first retailer has a 1-800 number for customer service... I could have called it and probably been given support on Friday. So why aren't emails treated with the same promptness?

Another thing came to mind. Have you ever created an account at a retailer when you didn't immediately wish to purchase something? I bet that happens very rarely. With that in mind, if someone registers on your e-commerce site and then does not purchase something, the odds are high that something went wrong and you need to contact that customer quickly to find out what went wrong and how you can fix it.

Just some thoughts!