Customer bonding

#32 - Jul.2022

Customer loyalty is directly related to the game you're in. The game most companies play is the one obsessively focused on the competition instead of connecting with customers.

This approach is broken not only because you might be replicating wrong decisions from others for the mere purpose of "closing the gap", but because your strategy is not focused on what customers need.

Loyalty is a result of bonding with customers. Is having people trusting in your promises. Is through long-term engagements with transparency and fair relationships. Bonding requires constantly listening to customers and discovering new ways to solve their problems; requires empathy and removing biases for experimenting with new ideas.

A few years ago, I found the Delta Model framework which I believe contains most of these key ingredients, but more importantly, the right mindset. It combines innovation (solving real customer problems) and strategy (planning towards your goals) connecting your company's capabilities & processes towards a converging goal: bonding with your customers. This should be a company-wide strategy and not restricted to specific teams (e.g. product, marketing, etc.)

Think long-term. Create long-lasting relationships with your customers. This is the game you should be playing.