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Thread: On Customer Loyalty ... ?

  1. #1
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    On Customer Loyalty ... ?

    Hey All -
    While some profess to have gained a high degree of customer loyalty, others say there is no such thing! Wondering? - Has anyone yet tried developing a "loyalty building program" for their engraving business? - a "promotional way" of generating (ensuring) greater repeat business? May be that consumers 'n companies don't require "engraved products" frequently enough for a "be-back" reward program? My question: other than basics (great service, your prices, etc.) do you do anything "promotionally" to reward individual customers who shop with you? - to gain, even "lock-in", their loyalty? Anybody remember trading stamps? - S&H Green Stamps 'n Gold Bond Stamps? (I used to sell stamp programs for the Gold Bond Stamp Co. years 'go - thus my continuing interest in loyalty building programs.) Would like to create a "be-back reward program" for my own business - wondering if you've got thoughts, ideas 'n advice for me, as might pertain to the engraving business? (could be I'm spinning my wheels? - let me know.)

    Thanks.
    Bill
    (Using Epilog 35W Mini 24)

  2. #2
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    Bill,


    I obviously can't answer this as a laser business person. All I can give you is my perspective as a general customer.

    The things that earn a company my loyalty has more to do with their employees. I am also quite interested in the quality of their products and the consistency and level of service, but I will work with a company that is not quite as high in that regard if their employees are notches above their competitor.

    If I were a business making this decision I am not sure how I would respond to this. But as an individual consumer that is where my preferences lie.

    Here is an example. I have a choice of several coffee shops near my office. I love good, stout coffee and although I generally only drink a cup each day it is a part of my morning routine I really enjoy and miss when I can't do it. My choices are Starbucks, and two other small local shops. (imagine that....a Starbucks in Seattle!!!! <grin>) I can take or leave Starbucks coffee. Nothing special. The two local shops offer a much better and stouter brew. But, their employees are curt at best. I have never developed any kind of rapport with them. But the folks at the nearby Starbucks, even though they change periodically, quickly become friends and a part of my day. When they leave for other jobs we often keep in touch. I can tell you the name of each barista, what classes they are taking in school and how they are doing. What their kids are up to, etc. We have found many instances of mutual friends in town, etc. Dealing with them is a good experience each day, consistently. Starbucks does offer a rewards program that I use, but that is not why I go back to that store, and the coffee is not why I go back. It is the experience each day that gets me back there.

    I may not be a typical user. My co-workers often express surprise when I go into a restaraunt with them and can greet a waiter or waitress or cook by name. Or if we are off in another remote part of town and I run into someone who used to work downtown and I know them.

    Anyway....those are the things that bring me back.

    Dave
    900x600 80watt EFR Tube laser from Liaocheng Ray Fine Tech LTD. Also a 900x600 2.5kw spindle CNC from Ray Fine. And my main tool, a well used and loved Jet 1642 Woodlathe with an outboard toolrest that helps me work from 36 inch diameters down to reallllllly tiny stuff.

  3. #3
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    I earn customer loyalty through high-quality work, not rebates, coupons, etc. The "customers" looking for bottom-of-the-barrel pricing quickly move on, and I'm happy to let them go as they will be forever trying to nickel and dime you to death. When your clientele are one-offs for the tourist type, offering "Today only, 10% off!" types of things are fine, but it really doesn't engender a good relationship with long-term clients... they'll wait for you to offer a discount, ask when your next discount will be offered, wait until then, etc.

    The only "promotion" I offer is to take on projects others deem too difficult... if it's for an existing client, I will offer them a very fair price. If it's for a new client, I will price it to cover any potential bugaboos I might encounter to cover my backside, and if none show up, I may reduce the original price (this really builds loyalty). If the new client never comes back, I still feel I've made a good profit and learned something in the process... if they do, well, there ya go.
    Hi-Tec Designs, LLC -- Owner (and self-proclaimed LED guru )

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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Hintz View Post
    The "customers" looking for bottom-of-the-barrel pricing quickly move on
    My business coach advised me a long time ago that any customer you win on price will be lost on price - win them with your value proposition and you'll keep them regardless of price.

  5. #5
    I have to agree with both Gary and Dan.. My customers have come back to me over and over because I deliver a consistent high quality item at a fair price and bend over backwards to get their orders out on a timely manor. I have had customers leave because they found a lower price but 90% have come back to me. They know that if they are in a bind I will do whatever it takes to get them taken care of. I have even taken no profit on a few small jobs (no fault of mine). The few times that this has happened, my customer knew about it.. They have been most grateful for helping them out of a bind.
    Full Spectrum Laser 5th Gen, 45 Watt with Gold Catalyst tube
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  6. #6
    There is customer loyalty but there are also organizations where the president turns over every 2 years and they have "a guy" and it doesn't matter what you do, you're losing that work.

    Ignoring the marketing side of business (which is a huge part of running a successful business), business comes down to putting out a good product and knowing your margins. If someone wants something for $10, there are "nice" options out there where you can make reasonable money. Judging the person won't see you build a business. If you're not interested in catering to your market, then you're not interested in being in business. Now that doesn't mean you can't give an opinion, but if everyone that wants to do business with you only has $15 to spend, don't you think it would be wise to come up with some products you can sell for $15 and make some money?
    Equipment: IS400, IS6000, VLS 6.60, LS100, HP4550, Ricoh GX e3300n, Hotronix STX20
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  7. #7
    It's the same for me as Mike, Gary & Dan have stated. Providing quality items and superior customer service keeps my customers coming back and I receive positive word of mouth advertising.

    For my long-term customers who order often, we have built up an easy working relationship and know what each person needs to accomplish the job. We have a level of trust and even developed a friendship so to speak. They are the customers who can send an email at 10pm and say "I really need such-n-such" and provide all the details I need to let me run with it the next morning and ship it off that afternoon. We'll settle-up the bill several days later when we both have a moment to breathe.

    One reward I do for my long term customers is turn them into my "official testers" for me when it comes to trying out a new product or new design. It could be something as simple as engraving a new type of pen or key chain with their name or their grandkid's name on it.
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  8. #8
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    There are many ways to get repeat customers. Often it is a feeling people get when thinking about buying. There are companies that make it a point to give their customers a warm cookie. It's part of their brand, a trademark gesture. Customers love it. When they think about that company it's one of the first things that pops in their head and gives them a good feeling, which counts for a lot. What's your warm cookie?

  9. #9
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    I can't speak specifically to a laser business, but I have designed and implemented loyalty programs for various clients throughout my customer experience consulting career. As several others have noted, quality products and great service are the first and most important component of customer loyalty. Loyalty programs only work if the products and service are up to snuff.

    A loyalty program requires some other prerequisites before it makes sense to implement. The first is a business model that encourages and supports repeat business. A laser business that does trophies and plaques is a good candidate because sports organizations purchase products regularly. Secondly, you have to be sure a loyalty program is a financially viable option for the business. Is the potential value of the program worth the time and money investment required to implement the program? Thirdly, is your market large enough to support a loyalty program? Loyalty cards are most successful on a very large scale, and rapidly lose value at smaller scales. Viewed in the context of a massive organization, customers see value in joining loyalty programs, but at the small business level most people see a loyalty program as a hindrance to interaction with the business. People want to have connections to small businesses, however fleeting, and that connection has a big influence on the overall customer impression of a business.

    All that said, even if you decide a loyalty program isn't for you, that doesn't mean the concepts can't be integrated into your business practices. Consider offering a returning customer a small discount automatically. You won't have to point it out, they'll notice and appreciate it. No card to punch, nothing to sign up for, just a quiet thank you to a loyal customer will be a very powerful motivator for them to return.
    Last edited by Jason Hilton; 04-17-2014 at 2:33 PM.

  10. #10
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    Hey 'gain -
    Thought I was clear 'n asking 'bout ways to build loyalty BEYOND service, prices 'n workmanship, etc. Guess not, as just 'bout everyone brought these basic factors to the forefront. The consensus being: these factors ('least for the engraving business) rule out the need to offer an actual loyalty reward program. Plus, Jason's idea that my business isn't scaled large enough to merit initiating a reward program is probably right on the mark. So, guess I've learned what I wanted to know - thanks all.
    On the flip-side: I've know 'great many business, over the years, which offered terrific service, great pricing, and quality products - all long gone now, due to competitive pressures - 'cause sometimes these elements just aren't enough! Did get 'few good ideas, however. Mike suggesting I give each customer a little "gift" of some sort. (i.e. keychain, pen, etc.) - one of those "can't hurt" type of things. And, Doug explaining the value of giving customers a "warm cookie". (an advertising gimmick which, if nothing else, spurs remembering a business.) Kind' a giving thought to Ross's idea: - my offering "cheap items", too. (if that's what my market is truly after?) Thinking that customers who buy a $5 item may return for a more profitable item down the pike? Anyways, thanks for all the input. Now, back to working on my new book - "To Small to Fail". Just kidding - back to engraving ...

    Bill
    (Using Epilog 35W Mini 24)

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Stearns View Post
    On the flip-side: I've know 'great many business, over the years, which offered terrific service, great pricing, and quality products - all long gone now, due to competitive pressures - 'cause sometimes these elements just aren't enough!
    This does raise another issue many of us have discussed here in years past... the race to the bottom. Do you want to be one of the few surviving shops that are doing just that, surviving, and nothing more? If I can't survive by offering a quality product at a reasonable price, then my business deserves to die off. I'd rather flip burgers at the local McD's (and let them take all of the risk of keeping me as an employee) than make the same hourly wage with a business barely scraping by (where I'm responsible for expensive equipment and upkeep, quarterly tax hassles, etc.). The moment you start acting like those businesses that paper Wal-Mart parking lots with 50% off and buy-one-get-one-free offers, that's the moment you begin racing to the bottom.

    A customer should need to come to you because of what you offer, not because you're the cheapest.
    Hi-Tec Designs, LLC -- Owner (and self-proclaimed LED guru )

    Trotec 80W Speedy 300 laser w/everything
    CAMaster Stinger CNC (25" x 36" x 5")
    USCutter 24" LaserPoint Vinyl Cutter
    Jet JWBS-18QT-3 18", 3HP bandsaw
    Robust Beauty 25"x52" wood lathe w/everything
    Jet BD-920W 9"x20" metal lathe
    Delta 18-900L 18" drill press

    Flame Polisher (ooooh, FIRE!)
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  12. #12
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    Well put Dan.
    When I had my PlasmaCAM and was doing metal art and then parts for people building cars that was all fine. But take your stuff to a art/craft show and people look at what you've done and think... heck he does that all on a machine all he needs to do is turn it on. They forget that someone has to do the design. People see that junk from India and where ever priced at $5 and think yours needs to be priced the same.

    I did make some money doing personalized signs and metal art that was specialized for pet and horse owners.

    Problem with the plasma cutting is it gets in the air and in your lungs even with a good exhaust system and a water table.
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  13. #13
    My engraving is industrial oriented, so the vast majority of my customers are other businesses. And more than a few of my customers are other engraving shops. I do engraving most other engravers avoid. I have customers come and go, but I have many regular customers going on 30 years or more. My dad started this business in 1966, and his first customers were ex co-worker/friends who changed employers, some of them several times. And typically, someone at every prior employer would call us for engraving, then THEY would change jobs, etc. etc... good ol' word of mouth, with Dave's "exponential function" at work!
    ========================================
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  14. #14
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    I also prefer to let them come back due to the quality, but I did try something one time to get more customers. What a flop. I gave out a card to my regulars that gave them a 15% discount on their next order if they referred a new customer to me that spent at least $50. A regular waited until he had a $1,800 order, then sent me a referral that gave me a $60 order. Cost me almost $300 to make less than a 3rd of that, and never saw the new guy again.



    Sammamish, WA

    Epilog Legend 24TT 45W, had a sign business for 17 years, now just doing laser work on the side.

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  15. #15
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    DAN -
    I value your input; really do. Sad truth is, much as I enjoy this business, I am "just surviving", not much more. Not' a shame to admit this; plenty of others are 'n the same boat, nowadays. (BTW: gonna have nightmares, tonight, of my flipping burgers at McD's.) By asking 'bout promotions, I wasn't inferring that service 'n quality are absolutely essential to success. Just that promotions, handled right, can help a business "stand out from the rest" - 'n those instances where competitors all offer the very same products, good service 'n quality, too. BTW: I do provide, safe to say, extraordinary customer service, and nobody has ever balked 'bout the quality of my products, or workmanship. (okay, one lady 'couple years back.) But, enough 'bout promotion: would like more of your thoughts 'bout "pricing". (know we've discussed pricing 'n past posts.) Guess I don't consider my trying to come up with different pricing strategies a "race to the bottom". (But, I do know what you mean.) Where do see the problem in my expanding into "lower cost awards"? Keeping 'n mind by "low cost", I don't necessary mean "cheap quality". Would like to think I'm more creative that that.) (plus, my chief competitor has shelves of that stuff.) Paraphrasing you - "a customer should come to me 'cause of what I offer" - if "inexpensive" is what they're after, shouldn't I be offering it, too? (key word: "too".) Especially, to groups hamstrung by pencil-thin budgets? Why chase 'em to the Internet? Only other move I can think to make is to expand upon those higher ticket items which sell best for me - meaning: a wider assortment of choices 'n styles. (i.e. photo engraving, lake maps, family trees.) You think this would be 'smarter, more profitable, direction for me? Please, let me know.
    JOE - 'minute you mentioned your promoting with a "discount card", I could see your problem coming! That's why you see so many disclaimers on promotional cards - Get a Burger Free - with the purchase a soda - offer only on Tuesdays 'tween 1 p.m. 'till 4, etc etc.

    Thanks guys - you're not just offering advice BTW - you're helping me, well ... stay afloat!
    (Using Epilog 35W Mini 24)

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