Learn Your Business From Your Customers

Opportunities for customer contact and service are everywhere, and it's critical to tap all of them to create lasting loyalty.

And the best way to do that is to teach every employee in every department how to recognize those opportunities and what to do with them.

It's not necessarily a simple task to tap into the reservoir of your customer's needs. They are more informed and more demanding than ever before. They have access to boundless information. They ask important questions, research products thoroughly and seek companies that will delight them with superior quality and service.

But make no mistake: Delighted customers are loyal customers. In order to achieve this relationship, you need to ensure that every aspect of your organization is geared to the customer. The idea is to amplify the customer's voice throughout your organization so that all employees are focused on creating customer loyalty. This is a sure path to higher company profits.

Studies show that the more receptive a company is to feedback, the better the customers' perception that they are important to the business. The significance of these studies? Customers who are made to feel special tend to return to your company again and again to buy more goods and services. Simply put, they are loyal.

To ensure a growing base of repeat business, train your entire organization how to use these three keys to unlocking customer loyalty:

• What to say to customers.
• How to say it.
• How to elicit feedback that clarifies customer needs.

In the meantime, copy the questionnaire below and give it to your customers. Tell them it's their chance to give your company a "report card." Customer loyalty and financial performance go hand in hand, so don't leave productive customer contact to chance. Make it a science.