Is Your Business Habit Forming?
The
best companies create customers who can't live without them. Follow these ABC's
of customer retention and never give them a reason to go elsewhere.
Executive director, Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation
and Tech Entrepreneurship, Illinois Institute of Technology
Habits
are much like technology--they can be good or bad --it's all a matter of what
you make of them. Some become second nature, others require constant
maintenance and vigilance, and still others seem expressly made to be broken.
Bad habits are those we typically call addictions or even diseases; good habits
are lauded as evidence of stern discipline, rigorous training, and a commitment
to quality and excellence. The truth is that many of the things we do on a
daily basis have far more to do with habit than good reasons.
We all
have good and bad tendencies, whether we realize it or not. Indeed, it's a
full-time job to avoid, enhance, nurture, change and/or care for all of the
diverse commitments that these behaviors entail. Habits are funny little things
- so weak at the outset that you barely notice them - and then, seemingly
overnight, they become so strong that they are very hard to break. Naturally,
the older and more established they are, the more challenging and
difficult they are to change or abandon.
One
interesting psychological aspect is that, if we really look carefully, we
sometimes discover that routine and process is what we are most attracted to,
and affected by, rather than the behavior. I was absolutely addicted to Diet
Coke for decades and then one day I quit cold turkey and discovered quite
quickly that I didn't miss the beverage as much as I missed the daily beats.
The regularity of stopping every day at 7-11 for my Big Gulp; the simplicity of
the every time answer: "I'll have a Diet Coke"; and the satisfaction
of that first, over-carbonated and essentially tasteless, sip to start off the
morning with a bit of cold caffeine.
In the
same way, this is something that almost every smoker would readily admit to. No
one with a brain thinks that smoking is healthy, but smokers persist because
something in the routine and the ritual is comforting and feels satisfying,
even though they know full well that it's slowly killing them. And it's
not just that smoking is something to do with their hands on a boring date
(that's what our phones are for) or to help keep the weight off or to be a
"cool" kid. It's a lot deeper and sadder than that.
I think
of our worst habits as unfortunately comfortable grooves we get into even as we
still try to convince ourselves -- despite copious evidence to the contrary --
that the reassurance and consistency and comfort they offer will somehow save
us from their obvious ill-effects. We're blinded by our own actions. Initially,
we tell ourselves that these foolish acts evidence our individuality, our
developing style, and the risks we willingly take to set ourselves apart. Then
we reach a certain point in our lives (and our careers) where it's clear that
the mission has changed. We go from acceptance and adherence to avoidance and
abandonment as we try to break the old chains and move to a healthier and more
sustainable business and personal life.
For
any business, on the other hand, there's nothing better than
to become a regular habit for your customers. And the best way to accomplish
that highly desirable status is to look to our own quasi-compulsive behaviors
for the keys and the cues that drive our personal actions and incorporate these
same drivers as much as possible into the ways in which you solicit, support
and sustain your own connections to your own clients, consumers and customers.
I'd
focus on five strategies which, over many years of application, I have found to
be the most consistent ways in which to assure -- as much as humanly possible
in the incredibly fluid and fickle world which we inhabit these days -- that
your customers stick around and come back.
A = Anticipate My Needs: Go to Where the Puck is Headed, Not
Where It Is
The
demographic and behavioral data we have available today makes it incumbent upon
smart companies to get a few steps ahead of their customers if they want to
keep them. Saving me time, helping me be more productive, and showing me how to
make smarter decisions for my own benefit are all ways of demonstrating that
your business is in the "business" of looking out for me. Getting the
job done is table stakes; helping your customers get a jump on the future is
the golden ring.
B= Beat My
Expectations: Experiences/Expectations > 1
There's
just no question that the businesses that succeed today are completely
committed to continuously raising the bar in order to meet the growing demands
and expectations of their customers. Customers' expectations are perpetually
progressive. Yesterday's miracles are today's "so-whats." It's all
about surprise and delight. If my every day experiences don't regularly exceed
my expectations, I'm more than likely to leave as soon as anything even
arguably better comes along. No one owns the customer anymore; we're obliged to
earn their trust and loyalty in every transaction and on every single
day.
C = Consistently Deliver: No Delays, No Mistakes, No
Surprises
Consumers
have the luxury of being unforgiving. In many cases, if you mess up at the
outset, you'll never get a second chance to make a first (or any) impression
because they won't stick around to give you that opportunity. But your existing
customers have already decided that it makes sense to deal with you as long as
you continue to execute and to deliver the goods. It takes years to develop trust,
confidence and the kinds of bonds that won't break under the slightest stress,
but it's nothing you should take for granted in this "what have you done
for me lately" marketplace.
Execution
is everything and you're competing not just with the guy down the street, but
with everyone across the globe and especially with whoever delivered the last,
best and most satisfying experience to your customers. You don't have to do it
better than Amazon every day, but you'll be left in the dust if you don't make
every effort to keep up.
D = Deepen Our Connection: Double Down on Your
Winners
The
very best customers are the ones you already have, and the easiest money is
earned by increasing your share of their spend or, as McDonald's used to say,
your share of their stomach. So much of business efficiency today is about
mining targeted slices and niches segmented from the broader general population
and also about reaching the right customers - the ones who are engaged,
connected, and willing to spend on an ongoing basis. It makes no sense to play
a volume game where you're focusing on traffic metrics rather than working to
build a real and specific audience for your products and services. Go deep. It
pays real dividends and beats the guys who are "a mile wide and an inch
deep" because they're trying to be all things to everybody.
E = Evidence: Show Me How Smart I Am to Stick with
You
Everyone's
an expert today on almost everything and - right or wrong - they're happy to
share their "expertise" with your customers. It's important that you
help your customers do their homework and feel smart about the choices they've
made to do business with you. You need to make sure that they have the facts,
the formulas, and the ammunition to support their decision to choose and then
to stick with you so they can withstand the constant onslaught of conflicting
views, arbitrary and unfounded opinions, fake surveys and studies, and all the
general noise pollution and commercial clutter that's out there today. Give
them the proof to make them proud.
As the
band Chicago sang in "Hard Habit to Break": "I guess I thought
you'd be here forever.... I was acting as if you were lucky to have me....
Doin' you a favor .... I was spreading my love too thin."
Don't
make the same mistake with your customers. There is no substitute for paying
attention and, if you don't, customers quickly stop caring.
You
want to become a very hard habit to break.