4 Steps to Customer Loyalty – Tips from a reformed credit manager

One of the best lessons I ever received came from a battle worn sales veteran who told me, “Mark, you’re a nice guy, but no one wants to talk to you...”. What he really meant was, when the credit manager calls, people either expect to hear bad news or think they are being called for money. In my case, it was usually a one sided exchange when I was calling; and it wasn’t in the customer’s favor.

In too many organizations, employees see their interaction with the customer from one side – theirs; but it doesn’t have to be this way. Regardless of what our ‘job’ is, each of us can play an integral role in creating a positive and constructive experience our customers will remember, and appreciate. One that will generate loyalty because they know we’re looking out for them; we’re on their side and invested in their success. 

Step one – Be good for the customer

All too often, employees fail to appreciate the value they can bring to a customer exchange; beyond performing the basics of their job.  In other words, not just being good to the customer, but rather being good for the customer. 

Whether you’re in sales, operations or credit; there are likely going to be opportunities where you can step out of your box and provide added value to the customer. Whether it’s by helping the customer solve a problem they’re having or serving as their advocate within your business, there are often ways we can use our unique expertise. As a credit manager, I looked for ways to help my customers because I knew it meant they would continue coming back to us. Our customers didn’t think of us merely as a supplier, they considered us as a partner who cared about them and contributed to their success. A nice by-product was that we were also generally the first to be paid.

Step two – See the work you do through the lens of the customer

In most organizations processes are designed with the organization in mind and often at the convenience of the business, not the customer. Whether it’s the forms we want filled out or the policies and procedures we expect our customers to follow, they were probably designed from our perspective. We get so used to things being the way they are, we either forget how hard they were to understand in the beginning or we fail to see them for what they really are. But from our customer’s perspective, we’re hard to do business with. Moreover, the difficulty we create can overshadow the value of our products or services. Stated more simply, we drive them to competitors who are easier to do business with. It’s unlikely our products or services will be so superior to our competitors that customers will put up with the frustration if there is someone else who is easier to do business with.

Fortunately, this can be remedied. By creating a customer journey map, and identifying each customer touch point, we can think about the process through the lens of the customer. The goal is to transform the current process into one that is designed with the customer in mind.

Step three – Communicate proactively

Few things raise our anxiety levels more than not knowing what’s going on and having to chase information. Not only can it be a very frustrating and time wasting experience; navigating IVR’s, getting someone’s voice mail, being transferred and having to re-explain our story yet again, but we feel unappreciated and unimportant.

When a business identifies the touch points when its employees will communicate with the customer, they set themselves up to deliver a better and more consistent customer experience: employees know whose responsibility it is to communicate with the customer, what method or format they will use, what information they will provide, etc. Additionally, the plan needs to be documented. This will create visibility for others on the team and help promote accountability. Too many organizations operate like a peewee hockey team, where everyone chases the puck. At the professional level though, they have a plan; everyone knows their position, the role they play and the value they can bring to the team.

The key is for the business to create a work plan that makes it clear to employees the details of what will be done; much like a professional hockey team. From a customer’s standpoint, it’s seamless. They are contacted before they begin to wonder what’s going on, in a format and with the content that makes it easy for them. Of course, customers also expect to be contacted because they’ve been told they would be. When a business follows this protocol, there are fewer surprises and customers feel more involved in the process. They are treated in a way that conveys they matter and their interests are being looked after. Customers will grow to trust you because they can depend on you to do what you said you would do. A nice by-product of setting employees up to be successful is greater employee engagement – and lower costs associated with low morale and employee turnover.

Step four – Use the right metrics to drive your decisions

To correctly align employee behavior with your organizations goals, you need to use the right ‘KPI’s’ (key performance indicators). Unless you measure what’s important for your organization, how will you know how well you’re doing or where to focus your improvement efforts. Moreover, which KPI’s are appropriate will evolve, just as our circumstances evolve. If you’re using the same KPI’s to measure your organizations performance you used five years ago, it’s probably time to take a good look and determine whether or not they still make sense for you.

The development of a strategic plan is your foundation. It details the metrics that are important: how they will be captured and validated, how often, by whom and how they will be communicated. The strategic plan aligns the day to day work being performed with the organizations goals.  If for example, customer loyalty is a primary goal for the organization, how are you evaluating whether or not your processes and systems are aligned with and support the activities that drive customer loyalty?

The KPI’s measure the effectiveness of the strategic plans execution. A note of caution however, don’t fall into the trap of implementing too many measures or you’ll confuse people and dilute the message of what’s really important. Your goal is to measure how effectively you’re providing value to your stakeholders and the degree to which you can do it profitably.

Generating profitable customer loyalty doesn’t happen overnight, nor does it happen without hard work. But with a thoughtful and well executed plan, it is achievable. The key will be ensuring your infrastructure is in place to drive the right behaviors through engaged and empowered employees. This will help ensure it is carried out in a way that drives value to your customers. You’ll know you’re on the right track when your customers don’t view the credit manager as an adversary.