When I’m Treated like a Valued Customer, I Become a Loyal Customer

What does it mean to treat a customer like a valued customer?

Some think and act as though just ‘showing up’ is enough. With so much competition across industries, it’s vital to stand out. Give customers a reason to do business with you! In the current state of the world, a lot of businesses are not operating in the Melbourne metro area. We’ve been in lockdown for months, and many people have been impacted. Many employees even lost their jobs. Businesses have either permanently or temporarily ceased operating, and budgeting has become a new skill for many.

For many people in Victoria, online shopping and also shopping for local products have become normal. Food/drink/health-related items at the handful of shops that are open are the norm; there’s no alternative (unless you choose to breach the rules). Businesses have been operating within their relevant guidelines in other parts of the country and the world. People have been heading out for work and play. The new normal is here; money is also being injected back into the economy. Consumers will want to do business with people who value them.

We are being encouraged to shop for local products, support small businesses, and get back out in the world. I have always advocated for and practised this. However, things have to change to stand out as a business in the new world. Interactions need to become less transactional and more about valuing customers.

As a consumer, I feel valued when the person providing a service or product:

• is present and gives me their full attention
• asks questions to understand my needs
• listens
• demonstrates patience
• demonstrates their expertise
• assists me
• professional
• is personable

There have been a lot of instances when I’ve been talking to someone on the phone/in-store/in an office/in a studio/in a practice who is helping me with a service or product. They also talk to me over someone else. They often rush the process. Even trying to sell something before identifying what is relevant to me, fumble and lie, or are just downright rude. As a customer, I felt invisible. This has happened in high-end stores, supermarket delis, and everything in between. Regardless of the industry, I will return to the same hotel, shop, health practitioner, café, restaurant, Telco, salon, etc., and become a loyal customer if the interaction validates my decision to do business with them.

How do you treat a customer as a valued customer?

Understand who your customers are and what is important to them. There is abundant data to develop general customer personas. It can be used as a sales and service baseline, which can then be customised to individual customers. Customising and creating a good experience involves skill, knowledge, motivation, common sense and courtesy.

Using the industry examples above, these are the things I value in a:

Hotel:

• luxury
• comfort
• ability to switch off
• room service

Health practitioner:

• Understanding my concerns
• Listening skills
• Treating me as an individual
• Providing the appropriate care

Café and restaurant:

• Good service
• Great food
• Fresh food
• Ambience

Beauty salon:

• No tox products
• Experience in a salon
• Creating a salon experience at home with the right products
• Skill
• Ambience

Hair salon:

• Skill
• Ambience
• Either low-tox or no-tox products

Telco:

• Service
• Treat me as an individual
• Reputable brands
• Price

Summing Up

These are some of the things I value when I am making a related purchase. I adapt my expectations to the situation/environment as a rational and sensible person. If I were to walk into either Just Cuts or Motel on Sydney Road, the experience I have as a customer would be different. What is important to me as a consumer is how the things I value are delivered in my experiences. A person doesn’t need to bend over backwards for customers and offer the impossible. What will make them stand out? If they go back to basics and also set out to help and treat them as a valued customer. Something that is especially important as we get back on our feet.