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What drives customer loyalty now?

January 18, 2012 | Online Marketing

If you think customer loyalty is driven by personal relationships or because of your hard work, then not only are you wrong - but you're putting your revenue at risk.

The reasons for customer loyalty have changed dramatically in the past decade, according to research published in the book, "The Challenger Sale" by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. Relationships and hard work now come in second and third on the list of what customers value most--and what will drive them to change providers.

Instead, customers today are looking for sales people to be experts--not in the products or services that they offer, but rather in the customer's own business. Sales people who can demonstrate that expertise in the sales process are winning big deals away from formerly entrenched competitors.

Here's how customers consider your value, from lowest to highest:

- If you know your product, you are a human catalog
- If you know your services, you are a technician
- If you can match your products and services to the customer's needs, you are a sales person
- If you know a customer's problems and business, you are a consultant
- If you know a customer's industry, market challenges and competitors, you are an expert

Get the full story at Inc.com

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