By: David Chung
Getting new customers to enter your store is certainly important, but keeping your customers coming back again and continuing to buy is the key to any great business.
Apart from revenue, there is a tremendous advantage that comes from creating Die-Hard Customers or Fans. Many Die-Hard Fans become brand ambassadors, recommending your business to their friends, family, and social media connections and spreading the word about their great experiences working with your company. Cultivating these Fans is critically important for any long-term and stable business.
Every business needs Die-Hard Fans and every executive wants to create them.
Unfortunately, how to create and sustain them is one of the greatest challenges that every company faces.
In the reality of today’s competitive business environment, your customers don’t feel great happiness or surprise if you only fulfill their expectations. To create Die-Hard Fans, you should discover and fulfill not only your customers’ stated needs but also their unexpressed wants. This is not an easy task, but it is worth doing to turn your competitors’ customers into your own Die-Hard Fans.
In my mind, there are some areas about which customers are concerned but they do not always express them directly to their product and service providers.
Every customer wants…
- …to buy personalized products, but they don’t want to answer a lot of questions during the long and complex customization process.
- …to visualize or feel the outcome before they pay for the product or service.
- …to enjoy all-around support from their product and service providers every time they need it.
…to be respected during the whole shopping journey. In reality, many shopkeepers neglect customers during and after the payment process
As a business executive, do you want to fulfill these areas through one simple framework? If so, the C.A.R.E. strategy is for you.
What C.A.R.E. stands for
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Customizing your products in the most easy and enjoyable ways
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Actualizing the outcomes of your products in your customer’s mind (before purchase)
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Resolving your customer’s questions, concerns, and doubts after they purchase your products
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Evaluating your customer’s experience in the last touchpoints of every shopping or servicing journey
For your reference, below are case studies with short videos for each area.
Area 1: Customizing your products in the most easy and enjoyable ways
Pizza Hut is piloting a new interactive digital tabletop that enables customers to design their pizza, order, and then play games while they wait. This new technology allows customers to choose the size of their pizza, their crust, toppings, cheese amounts, and more via their tabletop. The program includes step-by-step visuals to guide the selections and enables tableside payment and gaming apps to entertain guests while they wait for their order.
Area 2: Actualizing the outcomes of your products in your customer’s mind