Client trust is very challenging to keep in a slowing economic year. Businesses are trying to save money and are curtailing costs not based on service or product merit, but on price alone. This is effecting many business overall profit. Companies are seeing sales figures look more like a mountain range with so many peaks and valleys that focusing on the next quarter their looking to hire a mountain guide to show them the way.
Businesses not effect by customers sporadic buying habits have turned customers into fans of their products. Apple’s Mac computer, game software manufactures, and entertainers have learned that if you turn a customer into a fan of a product or service, the loyalty will out way the price.
Computer players are setting new pre-order sales for Modern Warfare 2 according to Gamespot.com. The popularity of the first game Modern Warfare created such a following that fans are pre-ordering the game months before it ships. Companies will be opening at midnight to handle the frenzy of clients figured to pick up the product. I personally have read of one store outlet who presold 2,400 games at $50.00 a game.
Apple’s computer orders have been steady increasing and people who own a Mac talk about it like if they are talking about their favorite Baseball team. Apple magically has transformed clients into fans and their product cost is less of a concern to their fans. Now fans boast about their product overall quality and reliability constancy.
Motorola and Goggle are badly trying not to be the minor league ball clubs when it comes to the Apple iPhone. Fans of the iPhone are creating thousands of application from games to financial application, making the iPhone the most extraordinary cell phones to date.
Talk to people about pizza and you will find people committed to a business. Fans of a particular pizza company will use that company for all their catering, banquet facility, and recommend them to neighbors and friends. They support the company for years and will order from out of state, just to satisfy the pizza craving. Once a pizza parlar has a fan base opening up new franchised becomes easy. In fact, the fans open up franchises closer to their retirement location, vacation sites, or in their own neighborhood.
So how did these companies change customers to fans?
- They had a excellent product or service
- They listened to their client
- Look for shortcoming in the competitors
- They made improvements and corrections
- They announce their success
Companies that want to be successful must realize that a client who is a fan of their product or service will travel great distances to obtain their product. They will modify their personal life to meet store hours. Nevertheless, businesses must give outstanding service, be willing to modify a product to the client needs, and acquire the employees to make it happen. Changing clients into fans does not happen overnight, but including these little modifications can improve your company get started in the right direction.
Process of Converting Clients into Fans
- Survey your customers – Find out what the like and dislike about your business.
- Be willing to adapt – Criticism is hard to take, correcting it takes energy and manpower.
- Correct and modify existing mistakes – If you aware of a problem, fix it! Learn from MS Windows – nobody likes a product that has problems.
- Have a support system for client support – Make it simple for clients to get answers and solutions. Too often companies build layers to stop the client from communicating to the customer. Make it simple for customers to get service via phone, net, texting, e-mail, fax, or just be able to communicate to a person.
These are just the start on what is needed to convert a customer into a fan. Begin today and build a loyal fan base. A fan will make your business the talk of the world and put money in your bank account.
