Making Customer Loyalty Real

Deloitte Research conducted a global manufacturing study in 1999 that resulted in an excellent report titled, “Making Customer Loyalty Real: Lessons from Leading Manufacturers.”

Not only does the report state that “customer loyalty is a critical driver of shareholder value around the world,” it also concludes that “for manufacturers,
low price, high quality, and on-time delivery are no longer enough to stay in the game of global competition.” What is imperative for future success, the study
shows, is “the ability to anticipate and quickly adapt to changing customer demands.”

“Our extensive study of the global manufacturing sector demonstrates that manufacturers must gear their entire organizations — not just their production
operations — to attract profitable customers and retain them for life,” states Deloitte.

“The new game is about shifting from a product-centric to a customer-centric focus.”
How do customer-centric manufacturers keep their customers loyal and deliver outstanding financial results? Well, according to Deloitte, the steps include
superior performance in pricing, quality, sales and marketing, and customer service. In other words, the very criteria on which customers base their purchase
decisions.

But there was one other aspect of the Deloitte report I found most fascinating. This had to do with the way in which customer loyalty actually strengthens the
manufacturers’ abilities to deliver on these key criteria. According to their analysis, “customer-centric manufacturers use their tight customer relationships to continually
learn how to optimize investments across the customer interface and delight customers in their next interaction. In this way, customer loyalty creates more
customer loyalty in a self-reinforcing cycle.”

Continue Reading Making Customer Loyalty Real