The best customer loyalty? None at all.
At the Customer Loyalty Forum, experts from business and science discussed at the invitation of Affinion International. The global market leader for loyalty and customer engagement had invited customers, business partners and interested parties to exchange ideas and network. Speakers from innovative companies were invited to give presentations.
And they ask us. I couldn't understand that. Not because of "innovative", but speakers on "customer loyalty"?
"But why should I speak there? We're doing away with loyalty completely: no orders, no contracts..."
"You are the antithesis." I liked the answer and agreed.
My credo on the subject is certainly clear..
To summarize:
- Customer loyalty should not be created artificially or by trickery. It has to be genuine.
The most honest thing is:
- You can leave whenever you want.
- You only pay as much and as long as we create value for you.
Any other form of commitment only creates dissatisfaction on both sides and only prolongs the parting in an agonizing way for both sides. As expected, the participants were initially quite "old-school", but surprised us with their interested questions and keen interest in such blatant paradigm shifts. I was very pleasantly surprised.
This is how my talk was summarized by the organizer:
- faster
- cheaper
- more efficient
Sven Ditz, founder and managing director of the Hamburg-based Internet agency sitegeist media solutions GmbH, presented his "RE.A.L" model, which has often been described as "radical".
The abbreviation stands for "Raw Estimates, Agile, Lean": the agency's customers receive "Raw Estimates" instead of detailed cost estimates. "We used to conduct negotiations and create cost estimates that listed 193 items on 17 pages. With the Raw Estimate, we reduce the cost estimate to the maximum: €240k. 12 months. 48 modules. No discussions," explained the agency boss.
Agile management determines the course of the projects; priorities are reviewed in stages together with the customer and, if necessary, realigned if requirements have changed.erp
By eliminating what Sven Ditz calls "waste", i.e. specifications, contracts and negotiations, his agency is able to work "lean" and significantly reduce costs for the client - "30 to 40 percent per project".
