2012
Satisfaction Does Not Equal Loyalty
Last week I went shopping for a new suit. I don’t wear suits very often, but I’ve been traveling more recently to visit clients so I thought it might be nice to own more than one (that still fits). I saw in my Sunday paper that Macy’s was having a great sale, so I thought I’d go there first. Long story short, I bought a $595 suit for about $225. Was I satisfied with my purchase? Heck yeah, I got a great deal and the suit fit really well off the rack. Will I now be loyal to Macy’s and make all my clothing purchases there? Not likely.
Well, why not? After all, I was quite satisfied with my purchase. First, because I’m cheap. For clothes, I almost always buy only when the item I’m looking for is on sale. Second, Macy’s is a bit out of the way for me – it’s about a 20 minute drive from me and parking is usually a b*tch. Third, and probably most important, I don’t really feel valued as a customer. I feel no personal connection to them. They have done nothing to build a relationship with me over the years even though I’ve spent thousands dollars with them if you include mattress and furniture purchases on top of the personal clothing items and gifts. To them, I’m just another faceless consumer – and to me, they are just a super mega corp that doesn’t particularly care how many customers they churn through.
So what could they have done to earn my loyalty? What could they have done to make me feel all warm and fuzzy? Read more >>