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August 7 marks "Treasure Your Customers Day."Rewarding customers means more than quirky holiday discounts andthank-you cards. To treasure your customers, you need to begin withan inventory of your customer satisfaction levels and relationshipassets. Sail the high seas by digging deep to discover yourcustomers' latent needs, acknowledging your flaws, resolvingconflicts quickly and positively, and proactively encouragingfeedback. Customers don't think of themselves as revenueoceans; they simply want you to delight them.
No need to roam the beach hunting for customer-appreciation tipsthis August. In honor of the holiday, check out the followingresources: The American Marketing Association will host a"Silencing the Voice of the Customer" webcast on August5, pillaging outdated perspectives on evaluating customer input andopinions. Register at www.marketingpower.com.
David Mosby and Michael Weissman's The Paradox of Excellence: How Great PerformanceCan Kill Your Business explores new ways to shore upcustomer loyalty.
Interested in customer cartography? Try a treasure map--anonline resource that surveys relationships between companies andcustomers. Our pick: Corante Customer Intelligence blog.
Kirsten Osolind is CEO and founder of re:inventioninc., a Chicago-based marketing consulting company.
