American Airlines & Customer Retention – Making Yourself Invaluable
On Monday we posed some thoughts on Customer Retention. Here is an advertisement that I love – this one from American Airlines that I believe stimulates thinking on customer retention. Take a look …
Jenkins is not going to lose that customer! He has made himself invaluable.
Over the years we have helped thousands of companies evolve their sales representatives to what we call a Sustaining Resource. Sustaining means on going. Resource means somewhere from which to draw from. I think we become invaluable to our customers when they see us as Jenkins – that individual they can tap on an on-going basis to bring ideas and solutions to help their business succeed.
Can you think of individuals who are invaluable to their customers, teams, businesses, and or units? Here are some that quickly come to my mind:
- Jenkins was invaluable to his client in the American commercial
- Steve Jobs is invaluable to Apple
- Sidney Crosby is invaluable to the Pittsburgh Penguins
- Kay Wingate, our e-learning coach is invaluable to our clients
- Fred Smith is invaluable to FedEx
- General David Petraeus is invaluable to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan
Traits like innovation, performance, expertise, desire, work ethic, results, leadership, empathy, knowledge, creativity, high standards, values, and others help each of these individuals become Sustaining Resources and invaluable. For those of us in sales, these are the types of things that will lead to customer retention.
Your Turn – Please Share With UsWhat does becoming invaluable mean to you?
How does your definition of becoming invaluable lead to improved customer retention?