The 3 Best Ways to Love Your Customers
June 2, 2015

The 3 Best Ways to Love Your Customers

by Brian de Haaff

You have come to expect bad service. You hate calling your mobile phone company, right? You just know you will spend a good part of your morning on hold. And you can predict with accuracy how an employee at the home improvement store will respond when you ask about a certain item: “If it’s not on the shelf, we don’t have it.” Sigh.

As consumers, we now expect poor service as the norm. We have become so jaded that we are actually shocked when someone treats us well and with respect.

Even brands we have trusted for years now underwhelm us with their service. Have you flown lately? When bad service happens, forget about brand loyalty — we vote with our feet. A survey found that three in five customers would try a new brand if they thought they might get better service somewhere else.

Clearly, service still matters.

But there is good news. If you have customers, there is still a chance they could love you.

Their low expectations present you with a real opportunity. What would happen if you showed your customers some real love? You could exponentially grow your business, simply by being nice.

Here are three great ways that you can delight your customers.

Give, give, give When you love someone, you behave selflessly. What are some outrageous ways you can improve the experience for your customers? Here is an example. One customer tweeted that he hoped there would be a porterhouse steak from Morton’s waiting when his plane landed in Newark. Sure enough, when he got off the plane, a Morton’s employee wearing a tuxedo presented him with a complete steak dinner and silverware. Now that is service! Do what you wish other businesses would do for you, and pass along some unexpected joy.

Respond immediately Have you ever stood at a counter waiting to be served, wondering if you might be invisible? Of course you have, so you know how it feels to be ignored. Your customers deserve your full and immediate attention. Our customer success team at Aha! knows this. They respond to all support tickets within two hours — even on evenings and weekends. We show our appreciation for our customers by following the Responsive Method.

Get real Technology is such a big part of our lives, but we still crave that human connection — maybe even more now. Having a real person answer the phone quickly all day, regardless of your company size, can set you apart from your competitors. So can humbly admitting when you have made a mistake, and going out of your way to make it right rather than just mumbling, “Sorry.”

Remember — without your customers, you would be out of business. You should be thinking about how to love them more every day.

Whatever business you are in, you can make a lasting impact on every customer. Do not let those opportunities pass you by. Otherwise, your customers will keep on looking for that love from someone else.

Which companies have loved you most?

Brian de Haaff

Brian de Haaff

Brian seeks business and wilderness adventure. He is the co-founder and CEO of Aha! — the world’s #1 product development software — and the author of the bestseller Lovability and The Startup Adventure newsletter. Brian writes and speaks about product and company growth and the journey of pursuing a meaningful life.

Follow Aha!

Follow Brian

Related articles

The Best Cover Letters That CEOs Love to Read
April 13, 2017
The Best Cover Letters That CEOs Love to Read

A well-crafted cover letter is a great way to get noticed. Find out what to include in your cover letter to catch the attention of a CEO.

New Marketing Managers — Do These 8 Things in the First 30 Days
January 28, 2019
New Marketing Managers — Do These 8 Things in the First 30 Days

Are you a new marketing manager? Check out these suggestions from eight marketing experts on how to show your true value in your first 30 days.