Statistics show that 79 percent to 96 percent of today's customers have become so used to mediocre service that they now have lowered their expectations. With service so low, more customers will stay silent about an experience that was "satisfactory," but totally unmemorable. A "satisfied" customer is less likely to return especially if a competitor tries to steal them away.
Small-business owners need to focus on customer loyalty. Betty Haines, writing for the Mesquite Citizen Journal, says that "to get customers in the door and begin earning their loyalty, market your business from the outside-in, not the inside-out. Put yourself in the shoes of your prospective customers, and ask yourself what they want from a visit to your business, not what you want to shove down their throats."
Business is all about solving a customer problem in every transaction. Customer satisfaction is not measured by the number that leave happy, but by the number of loyal customers who return.
Source: OPEN Forum via Mesquite Citizen Journal
