Richard Shapiro recently released his second book “The Endangered Customer: 8 Steps to Guarantee Repeat Business”. He is the Founder and President of The Center For Client Retention and his area of expertise is in generating repeat business.
Brief background about Richard Shapiro:
• Mr. Shapiro developed a curiosity for client retention working in his father’s men’s retail clothing store. His father looked at all customers as people first and customers second. Shapiro has continued this practice and shaped his philosophy based on a customer is a person first.
• He worked at ADP for 14 years as Vice President of Customer Satisfaction and Client Retention. During his tenure at ADP sales rose from $40 million to more than $4 billion making the company one of the most profitable global service enterprises.
• In 1988, he started his own company, The Center For Client Retention.
• Richard Shapiro is widely respected for his expertise and considered a thought leader in the areas of brand loyalty research, the customer journey and retention.
• He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Newsday, The Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, CBS News, and Fox Business News as an authority in his field.
• He holds a BA degree in Marketing from the University of Bridgeport and a MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Summary points of interest during the interview:
• Today, technology should be used to enhance the customer experience not diminish it. Anyone can replicate the technology, what they can’t replicate is the human interaction.
• The strongest human emotion is hope. Nobody contacts a customer service department without hoping that something is going to happen.
• Its important that you listen to the underlying reason for a customer interaction, listen to their emotion, and hear their concern.
• From the new book: “The Endangered Customer, 8 Steps To Guarantee Repeat Business”
1) Make me feel welcome
2) Give me your full attention
3) Answer more than my question
4) Know your stuff
5) Don’t tell me “no”
6) Invite me to return
7) Show me that I matter
8) Surprise me in good ways
• What people hope for is that you don’t tell them no, it’s the biggest killer of loyalty. You can do all the other steps, but once you say no all the loyalty falls like a set of dominoes and its hard to get that feeling back from the customer. Rule of thumb: if the customer asks something never say “no,” keep working on solutions until you can come up with a “yes”. Taking too long to get back to a customer is the same as saying no, it makes the customer feel less important. 99% of all customers are right.
• If you want that customer for life you have to be flexible, managers need to be able to empower their associates and employees to break rules and solve problems. Consider the lifetime value of the customer, how much they are worth to you over 10-20 years time plus all of the referrals they can bring you.
• Every business is going to live or die based on customer reviews, rating all the way to a specific person at a specific store. In the future the sales associate may be able to bring their ratings with them from one employer to the next especially on a job interview.
• When a customer wants to buy something try to find out why they are buying it, maybe you have more information and can direct the customer to a more satisfying product. That’s great service and will reap rewards especially when the customer gets compliments from others.
• Say the customer’s name at least once during the interaction – especially if you can see the customers name on a credit card or debit card transaction.
• The shortest word that has the biggest impact is “I” as in, “I can help you with that”. The customer knows that you care and are taking personal responsibility for the outcome of the customer’s interaction.
• End every interaction with “I want to see you again”. Far better than “please come back,” it shows personal and individual interest of the salesperson for the customer not just general interest of the company in a future sale.
How to get in touch with and follow Richard Shapiro:
• www.tcfcr.com – the website for The Center For Client Retention
it also features a weekly blog with many helpful articles for any company in any business
• latest book “The Endangered Customer: 8 Steps to Guarantee Repeat Business” available on Amazon, in ePrint, hardcopy and also as an audio book