Attract, Engage and Delight: The best business strategy that establish customer loyalty

The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who always ask themselves the right questions in order to grow their businesses in a sustainable manner.

Why did I build this company in the first place? How can I get people to do business with me forever? What do I, and my company stands for? What makes me or my company better than others who are selling the same products or services like me?

All these questions can be answered by using a three step process that is regarded as the best business strategy that will not only win you customers but make them loyal to you. The first step is Attract, followed by Engage, and then Delight.

1.    Attract

Customer attraction is one of the most important yet untapped business components that most companies takes for granted. More than anything, this has to do with branding than advertising or marketing itself.

Everyone knows they have to advertise in order to get customers and drive sales, but not everybody seem to be convincing enough when the customers ask: Why should we buy from you instead of your next door competitor?

What distinguishes the successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful one in this regard is the manner in which they present themselves and their companies to their customers. They are very clear in their vision and consistent on their mission. They know who they are, what they stand for and their purpose.

Henceforth, having the clarity of why and getting the branding essentials correct will get you ahead from your competitors in attracting customers/clients. Remember, “People don’t buy what you do, but they buy why you do it” – Simon Sinek.

Moreover, people are attracted to what is more beautiful and appealing to them. Ask chefs or restaurant why food presentation is emphasized in advertising more than the taste of the food item itself. They will tell you, in most of the time, presentation is everything you need to get customers to your restaurant.

2.    Engage

The second step after attracting clients or customers to your business is engagement through excellent customer care/service. Needless to say, most companies lose potential clients during this step despite doing a phenomenal job to attract them through great branding essential and marketing strategies.

The secret to successful customer engagement is a well-crafted vision script. A vision script is an engine of all effective and efficient business models. A vision script is an extension of a company’s vision statement but most companies seems to miss this part when they build their brands or draft their vision and mission statements.

Why is a vision script so important, especially for customer engagement? A vision script is a detailed year plan which serves as a guide for running a successful business. The habits of leadership and employees of the company are guided by this vision script on how to deal with each and every component of the business.

For customer engagement, as an example, allow me to use the LATTE method which is used by Starbucks employees when dealing with an unhappy customer.

LATTE is an acronym which they describe as follows:

L = Listen to the person

A = Acknowledge their complaint

T = Take action by solving a problem

T = Thank them, and

E = Explain why the problem occurred.

Generally, the vision script contains all the keystone habits that the employees and management of the company must be used at all times for customer satisfaction. These habits influence how people work, eat, play, live, spend and communicate.

As an entrepreneur or visionary leader of your company, you must take it upon yourself to train your employees and familiarize them with your vision script. For better customer engagement and satisfaction, work and communication habits of the employees must be guided by the company’s vision script. “A man without a smile must never open a shop” – Chinese proverb

3.    Delight

The key measure of business success is customer satisfaction and the measure of customer satisfaction is repeat business. The three question you must ask yourself in order to please your customers are: 1.  Am I better than my competitors? 2.  Am I providing faster services than my competitors? 3.  Am I cheaper?

Although the aim of the company is to generate revenues, the purpose of a business is to please its customers or clients so they can do business again. In order to ensure that your customers are not only satisfied but delighted to do business with you, make sure you are providing better and faster services than your competitors.

And if you can study price sales of your competitors, it will be easy to adjust yours but still keep them in a range that will generate profit. Most companies charge exorbitant prices and your target market should be those customers who are being exploited. When they come to you, they will be delighted to do business with you over and over because you are better, faster and cheaper.

In conclusion, this is how you build customer loyalty – Attract, Engage and Delight.