by Sam Klaidman | May 20, 2013 | Growth
Are referrals and references the same? Referrals and references are different. A synonym for referral is “recommendation,” while “testimonial” is a synonym for reference. While the difference may be subtle, it is essential to me. In a business sense, a testimonial is...
by Sam Klaidman | May 6, 2013 | Customer Loyalty
Context is critical, but we often forget about it. Here is why context is so important! When you first meet someone, do you rush to judgment and decide how competent she is? And if you are proven correct, do you generalize her behavior for all circumstances? And do...
by Sam Klaidman | Apr 30, 2013 | Customer Loyalty
When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, it was to be a customer-centric online bookstore. My how it has grown, diversified, and prospered. A piece of this incredible story can be found in Amazon’s 2012 Letter to Shareholders, released on April 12, 2012. Where to...
by Sam Klaidman | Apr 22, 2013 | Growth
Doesn’t this equation seem logical? Churn rate + Retention Rate = 100%. After all, your customers either stay (retention) or leave (churn). Unfortunately, the answer is NO. And that is because each term measures something different. Let me explain. Calculating...
by Sam Klaidman | Apr 15, 2013 | Growth
Remember the auto industry? You know, the one that almost died in the U.S. in the 2007-2008 recession. The good news is that it is alive, well, and innovative. In this post, I will look at two premium auto lines, BMW and Lincoln, which identified and adopted...
by Sam Klaidman | Apr 8, 2013 | Customer Loyalty
Before prospects become customers, they only have expectations about your products, services, and what it will be like working with your company. When they convert, real-life experiences quickly replace these expectations. However, your customers will still be...
by Sam Klaidman | Apr 1, 2013 | Customer Loyalty
A brand exists in the minds of prospects and customers and is heavily influenced by our positive memories. It is the sum of all expectations plus all perceptions of experiences. However, some expectations and experiences no longer remain in our brains because most of...
by Sam Klaidman | Mar 25, 2013 | Growth
You only have one chance to make a first impression. You should start before a prospect becomes a customer because it is difficult for a company to hit the “first impression undo button.” At the same time, while it should be straightforward to make a great...
by Sam Klaidman | Mar 18, 2013 | Customer Value Creation
⬅︎This is not a retention strategy! Every business needs a retention strategy, and every retention strategy needs a differentiator, something that makes your business stand out from the crowd. The differentiator must have long-term value, high barriers to entry, and...
by Sam Klaidman | Mar 13, 2013 | Customer Loyalty
We all seem to spend our days either making decisions or sitting in meetings, where we frequently wind up making decisions. We have all the facts we need for many of these decisions or know where to get them. For the rest, we have to make assumptions. In the case of...
