Shannon,

Very interesting. While I am not super deep in the advertising agency world, I have a pretty good idea of what you are going through. I would reference an article I wrote several months back titled, "Marry your Customer," that speaks exactly to the trust and loyalty issue. You can find it by going to my website, www.customerexperiencesinc.com and clicking on the publications tab on the top.

In a nutshell, you have to start by understanding the "Promises" your clients want you to keep. Then you have to keep them, every day, and over time you will build "Trust." Trust then evolves to Loyalty. You are spot on in identifying that without Trust, there is no chance of Loyalty. Thanks for the comments.

Blaine

Tammy,

Thanks for your comments. I completely agree with you - the customer has been "ignored" too long and with the creation of Social Media and the associated tools, the customer will no longer be in the "background."

I have submitted my next article, Part Two, which gives the 7 Steps. I hope it will be posted in the next couple of days. There are lots of other great statistics that I didn't share - will share more of them in future articles. Suffice it to say, the direction has certainly changed for business and a new dawn is about to emerge.

Blaine

Susan - Happy to reconfirm what you "already" knew was the right thing to do. I always believe if you do the right thing, no matter what, the longer term rewards outweigh the shorter term pains - looks like you are living proof of that as well.

One suggestion - lose the word "satisfaction" from your vocabulary. Satisfaction simply means someone is "looking for the next best deal" to come along. If you are satisfied, you are "content" but if a better deal comes along you, and your customers, will defect. Move up the scale to Loyalty, Trusted Relationships, Delight - NOT satisfaction. Check out our website for more on how to move you up the chart from merely satisfied to "Loyalists."

Hope that helps...Good luck and keep going, it will pay off for you - thanks for the comments.

Thanks Stephen - glad it hit home for you. I like your comment about "this market requires that we spend more time and effort to work our market base." That is precisely my point - invest now and you won't just survive, you will thrive - especially when things start to turn.

Customers have longer memories than elephants - they will remember who really stepped it up in tough times and stay with you. Good luck and look forward to your next article.

Jen - couldn't have said it better myself. That is one thing that really bothers me with organizations - they get complacent. Some where along the line they forgot about the one group that "writes them checks" and focused more on themselves and internally.

That was the original reason we wrote our first book, because we didn't see the customer experience being viewed as a business process and something the organization should focus on as much or more than anything else. Those that "get it" are leaps and bounds ahead of their competition - which is what we try to help organizations figure out.

Thanks again - I appreciate you taking time to comment.

Thanks Lisa - appreciate your comments. Completely agree and I too believe that the companies who invest now in their customers will be the ones rewarded many times over when the economy improves. Anyone, especially in a service type industry, can really take advantage of these times and jump ahead of compeititors and build tremendous loyalty for the future. Best of luck.