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Category : business to the heart

  • The satisfied customer paradox
    by Steven Van Belleghem on January 28, 2014in the categories business to the heart, digital customer service, Marketing 2020, Opinion, social business3 Comments

    Satisfied customers lead to a successful business. This is a hypothesis that many of us take for granted. However, recent research has shown there’s more to it than that. The study indicates there is no correlation between satisfied customers and business results. Also, a negative correlation exists between satisfied customers and market share. The satisfied customer paradox is almost like a parabola: a small company tries to please its customers, an attitude that builds your market share. At that point, chances are you will create dissatisfied customers and lose market share. This company life cycle has become shorter over the years.

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  • Four new ways to earn customer loyalty
    by Steven Van Belleghem on January 21, 2014in the categories business to the heart, Marketing 2020, Opinion1 Comment

    Customer loyalty is in decline. Loyalty programs do not work anymore. In fact, everyone agrees most loyalty programs are discount programs. As I described in a previous post about loyalty, I’m not ready to give up on loyalty.

    In this post, I would like to share four approaches that can help companies restore the emotional relationship that may result in loyalty.

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  • Why customer loyalty is declining and what companies can do about it
    by Steven Van Belleghem on October 10, 2013in the categories business to the heart, Marketing 2020, Uncategorized3 Comments

    Various studies point in the same direction: customer loyalty is disappearing in a hurry. Consumers put less trust in brands and tend to switch brands a lot faster. The famous 80/20 rule (20% of the customers account for 80% of the turnover) has turned into a 60/40 rule (40% of the customers generate 60% of the turnover) and is slowly evolving towards a 50/50 rule. In the latter case, loyal and disloyal customers generate the same amount of income. This shift is putting quite a few established marketing tactics in doubt. Should marketers invest less in loyalty programs? Or should they invest more? Should marketers favor proven methods such as investing in mass media?

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  • A Purpose Driven Culture
    by Steven Van Belleghem on October 1, 2013in the categories big data, business to the heart, Marketing 20201 Comment

    This is the last post about our trip to Silicon Valley. The first post was about the ‘customer first, without compromise’ approach. The second about the organizational design to make it happen. Today’s post is about the purpose driven culture.

    Purpose-driven Culture

    Clear & Inspiring Purpose

    Most CEOs understand the power of purpose. A purpose is a “higher goal” for the organization. Starbucks says it best: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time”. Starbucks is not about selling coffee but about bringing people together. When you visit the company, this mentality is palpable in every corner of the building. Every employee breathes this mentality.

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  • Can I share a dream? Image your customer becomes your friend…
    by Steven Van Belleghem on September 9, 2013in the categories business to the heart, Marketing 20201 Comment

    Can customers become friends? It may sound odd but it probably happens every day. My father’s best friend is one of the craftsmen who built my parents’ house back in the day. Back then, it was a relationship between supplier and customer. That contact slowly developed into friendship. Thirty years later they’ve been going on holiday together for many years. A customer becomes a friend.

    But the real question is this: can it be done on a larger scale? Does modern technology allow companies to build a meaningful and emotional relationship with multiple customers? Well, the sky is the limit where technology and humanity meet.

    Although I must admit that real-life examples are few and far between. Let’s just say this blog is a naive dream of mine.

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