The Ten Demandments

Ten Demandments for turning the most demanding consumers into the most delighted customers. Rules to Live By in the Age of the Demanding Customer by Kelly Mooney.

Beyond all the hype about delighting customers by meeting and exceeding their expectations, is the simple reality that most businesses just don't come close to knowing what customers care about. Today's consumers expect more and tolerate less, in part because they have so many options. With the ever-expanding explosion of information readily available and easily accessible via the Internet, modern consumers are able to research and comparison shop an endless array of both products and services from the comfort of their own homes or offices. Welcome to the age of the demanding consumer.

Mooney's Ten Demandments for turning the most demanding consumers into the most delighted customers are:

1. Earn my trust through respect, integrity, advocacy and quality.
2. Inspire me through immersive experiences, motivating messages and related philanthropy.
3. Make it easy with simplicity, speed and usefulness.
4. Put me in charge of making choices and give me control.
5. Guide me with expert advice, education and information.
6. Give me 24/7 access, from anywhere, at anytime.
7. Get to know me — listen, learn and study me, the real consumer, not just data.
8. Exceed my expectations with uncommon courtesies and surprising services.
9. Reward me with points programs, privileges of access or other worthwhile extras.
10. Stay with me with follow through and meaningful follow-up.

A detailed description of four of the key demandments follows. Mooney provides specific action items you can use to tackle the challenges of the ever-demanding customer and secure your company's future.

Demandment #1: Earn My Trust

The first demandment, Earn My Trust, is the single most important demandment. Not only is it the heart of the new consumer experience, it is also the center of the old-school consumer experience. Regardless of where a buyer interacts with a brand, be it a store, a service center, online or on the phone, trust is a fluid commodity that ebbs and flows with each experience. As Mooney points out, a bad experience is often more memorable than a good one and consumers tend to remember when they've been treated poorly more often than when they've been treated well.

In this era of seemingly endless options, with an infinite number of stores and brands and choices, companies possessing an historical relationship with customers and who have provided generation after generation with products and services are ahead of the game in maintaining and extending consumer loyalty. For example, in Harris Polls, consumers frequently rank Johnson & Johnson, makers of Johnson's Baby Shampoo, at the top of the list of most trusted brands. Any brand that succeeds in getting millions of consumers to entrust their babies to its products is clearly onto a good thing.

Earning trust, from the consumer point of view, can be achieved by following these edicts.

• Straight talk, not slick talk. Make clear and honest claims. For example, Land's End guarantee: "Guaranteed. Period." is simple, clear and true.
• Prove you're on my side. Adopt policies that reflect a philosophy of customer advocacy, even if it means losing a sale. Progressive Insurance is an excellent role model, offering free price comparisons and assisting consumers in shopping for insurance rather than simply selling their own products.
• Don't be pushy getting information. Make questions optional, relevant and understated. Ponder this: Why does Radio Shack need a ZIP code before a customer can buy a battery?
• Align your marketing and sales channels to present a unified face to customers. Clearly communicate key information and sales conditions across all channels. According to Jupiter Media Metrix, Inc., 70 percent of online shoppers said that poor online communications could lead them to spend less time and money at their retail store.
• Protect me. Employ a Chief Privacy Officer to ensure consumer privacy and security. One example of a protective response was when IKEA's online catalogue sign-up list was compromised, IKEA sent out an email notifying their customers of the breach.

This final trust-earning behavior is particularly salient with today's information sharing technology. American Express is a terrific example of a corporation protecting its customers: In early 2001 the company sent all cardholders a comprehensive and easy-to-understand notice explaining how they protect cardholder privacy when collecting and using personal information. American Express also provided customers with easy and actionable opt-out choices. These proactive protective measures clearly illustrate the truth behind the opening sentence of the privacy notice mailing: "At American Express, maintaining our customer's trust and confidence is a high priority."

Demandment #2: Inspire Me

According to Mooney, inspiration is the ultimate form of communion between a company and its consumers. Brand survival depends on creating an emotional bond with consumers, and the companies that successfully establish this bond are the ones that map the products, services, experiences, or ideals that resonate with their customers. Without doubt, creating long-term and meaningful connections with consumers is far from easy. While people cry at commercials featuring newborn babies or reunited relatives, and kids get excited about the latest toy from a blockbuster movie, the brands that become part of customers' lives evoke far more passion and loyalty than simple tearjerker advertising or tie-in marketing.

A fine example of brand passion is all about doughnuts: The mere fact that consumers can find inspiration in a hot doughnut truly is a remarkable thing, but it is also remarkably true in the case of Krispy Kreme. The once-small Southern chain has emerged as one of America's most beloved brands by tapping the natural enthusiasm of its loyal customers and their endless delight at talking about doughnuts. Largely through word-of-mouth, the company has been wildly successful, with more than 200 stores in 33 states (and now growing internationally). Importantly, even with its tremendous expansion and success, Krispy Kreme remains true to the homespun brand and its dedication to community giving, inspiring its loyal customers to continue talking and consuming.

Inspiration moves consumers to be both long-term and loyal. Here are a few of Mooney's guidelines your company can employ to inspire customers.

• Have a heart. Support philanthropic organizations relevant to your customers. The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has raised more than $150 million since 1993 — it's the right cause with the right message — we care about our customers and their lives.
• Connect with me. Stand for something meaningful that reaches consumers on an emotional level. Krispy Kreme's brand promise of "magic and memory" achieves this beautifully.
• Create the theater. Offer a sensory-driven environment that engages consumers. The House of Blues, whether it's in the Vegas hotel or the New Orleans nightclub, offers an authenticity of experience whereby consumers are immersed in a world of blues music and genuine memorabilia rather than just a staged setting.
• Motivate me. Provide encouragement and stimulation for achieving self-enhancement and positive results. The astounding effect of Oprah's Book Club has rejuvenated the flagging book publishing/selling industry across North America.

Companies able to reach and inspire the spirits of their consumers deliver experiences that extend beyond simple consumerism and commercialism. Products and services can garner experiences that are deeply felt, genuine and enchantingly memorable. Just as true believers are not born but rather are inspired, so too are loyal customers inspired. Don't just try to grab your customer's attention, seek a real connection with them.

Demandment #8: Exceed My Expectations

Managing expectations can be a tricky business: set them too high and they're hard to meet, set them too low and undersell what you offer. From the consumer perspective, Exceed My Expectations is about sending consumers on an exciting journey that takes them from trust to loyalty, from expectation to delight. In forging an invisible but tenable bridge to the opposite side of the transactional equation, you prove that your company delivers on its original promise, and then goes above and beyond. Doing something out of the ordinary, even far more than necessary, proves again and again that your customers will get more than they pay for, or even anticipate, each and every time they do business with you.

Exceeding expectations encompasses things such as offering an apology before anyone even complains about a minor problem, being proactive rather than reactive, fixing those little things that aren't quite right, and making amends in big ways when even a small response would suffice. In Mooney's words: "it's about being better than you have to be, not only because your consumers expect or demand it, but because they deserve it."

Mooney presents several methods for successfully exceeding your consumer expectations.

• Overcompensate. Put services and features in place to make up for channel or competitive deficiencies or weaknesses. For example, Mooney's favorite local toy store stands out from the industry giants by offering free gift-wrapping on all purchases year-round.
• Do more than you should. Make "delivering more than we promise" the philosophy of your company. Remember the idea of the "baker's dozen," giving a regular customer thirteen instead of twelve rolls? Little things can go a surprisingly long way like the little static sticker Jiffy Lube puts on your windshield as a reminder of your next oil change.
• Surprise me with extras. Promote extras designed to delight consumers even when they seem happy and satisfied. Small, on-the-spot incentives can inspire spending — one successful "extra" was Victoria's Secret offering $5 off any purchase simply for trying on a Body by Victoria bra.
• Uncommon courtesies. Have employees willingly extend apologies and have definitive guidelines for immediately satisfying a customer. In other words, turn on the charm, dial up the sincerity, and you will win customers over. And train your employees about the importance of customer appreciation. Target's sales associates are trained to make eye contact and offer a warm "Thanks so much for shopping with us."

Exceeding expectations is about delivering an experience that transcends the actual purchase or service — it's that intangible "WOW!" And, exceeding expectations isn't about providing perfection, but rather it's about enthusiastic, relevant responsiveness to consumer needs.

Demandment #10: Stay With Me

The final demandment brings these guidelines full circle, with the concepts of follow-through, follow-up, and maintaining a following — even during the quiet periods when companies and consumers are apart. One of the most difficult demandments to achieve, Stay With Me is the most open-ended and the least defined in terms of specific time-periods, traditional tactics and experience drivers.

At the same time, it's one of the most critical elements for success as it's all about retention — keeping the customers inside the loyalty loop as long as possible. Wrap things up neatly and beautifully and you'll set the stage for further interactions. Research indicates that improving retention rates can increase profitability by 25 to 50 percent.

In order to improve your customer retention rates, Mooney presents five methods from the consumer's point of view.

• It's not over until it's over. Make returns hassle-free, including gift returns, and issue immediate credit. Stores such as Sears, Old Navy and The Gap offer gift receipts, as well as providing 30-day return policies.
• Keep your promises. Make promises and honor your warrantees without hassle or delay.
• Give me an out. Clearly communicate easy options for customers to cancel transactions or relationships with your company.
• Keep up with me. Provide a way for consumers to easily update their information, lodge complaints or offer suggestions. Offer user-friendly websites that promote contact with your company. Quarterly newsletters, such as Ford's No Boundaries or Nike's NikeGoddess, which offer information based on the target audience's interests help maintain relationships.
• Be there for me. Evolve to meet customers' ongoing needs through innovative products and unrelenting helpfulness. With the aging population and changing demographics, a hip clothing company, for example, could market roomier yet stylish clothing to accommodate the "middle-aged spread." Reinvent your relevancy in consumer lives and find ways to celebrate the things that matter to you and your customers.

One iconic American company that embodies the concepts of retention with persistent and persuasive branding is Hershey's. This simple, inexpensive chocolate has emerged as a brand with a legacy, a destination and an experience. Consumers can't pay for groceries, buy gas, or rent a video without being tempted by a Hershey Bar or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. There are Hershey's Kisses wrapped in colorful foil to match every holiday and season. Guests can visit the spa at the Hotel Hershey, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and be treated to whipped cocoa baths and chocolate fondue wraps. Visitors can wander down the streets of Hershey, named Chocolate and Cocoa Avenues, explore the Hershey Amusement Park, and delight in the Chocolate World Visitor's Center, topped off with free samples.