By John R. Graham and the Staff of Graham Communications

It wasn't so long ago that customers were fiercely loyal. Today, they are frighteningly fickle. Driven by what appears to be nothing less than untamed self-interest, they do business on a one-way basis. Yet, dangling before us is the lure of the "customers for life" carrot.

Companies of every size run harder and faster, striving to become 110 percent customer-sensitive in order to attain this illusive level of performance. They make every conceivable concession and offer every possible value-added service in order to retain those who do business with them. But customers still leave.

The "customers for life" concept is a myth--a pleasant one to be sure, but a myth nonetheless. It is what every CEO wants to believe exists.

Yet, in reality, it is nothing more than a sinister delusion portraying an unattainable goal. No customer is for life. Rather, they exist for measurable periods of time--and even then, customer loyalty is never 100 percent. Whether they are consumers or purchasing agents, today's buyers are selective. Gucci shoes are worn by Wal-Mart customers as well as Nieman-Marcus shoppers.

The realistic task is to capture the customer under certain circumstances for a period of time. The goal should be to build limited loyalty; to have as much of the customer's attention as realistically possible.

The concept of limited loyalty opens the door to reaching attainable, useful goals and meeting achievable expectations. Here are 27 ways to increase customer loyalty and improve the prospects of keeping customers longer. Individually, no listed item is particularly potent. Only when they are used in significant clusters do they make a noticeable impact.

The goal is to implement as many as possible.

1. Offer a guarantee. Every business can offer a desirable guarantee, one that makes sense to its customers. By putting its reputation on the line, it separates itself from their competitors.
2. Provide toll-free telephone access. There are those who continue to argue that 800 numbers are impersonal, suggesting that companies are not local. Not today. An 800-telephone number is simply a way of saying, "We want you so much, we're willing to make it easy for you to communicate with us." It's like saying, "Welcome."
3. Offer customer-convenient hours. Convenience is the test that counts today because time is equally as important to customers as is price, a principle that has built the catalog industry. Being open when the customer wants to do business is critical.
4. Provide automated attendant telephone answering during non-business hours. Making it possible for the customer to communicate is essential because a completed call is a finished act; something that no longer needs to be remembered.
5. Publish home telephone and beeper telephone numbers on business cards. Knowing that it's possible to get in touch at night and on weekends provides a high level of comfort to the customer. If an emergency should arise, the customer knows that connection is possible.
6. Offer helpful suggestions. Every business has FAQs, or frequently asked questions. CSRs know all of them. Why not publish the FAQs and the answers? Not only does it reduce the number of telephone calls, it makes customers feel better informed.
7. Communicate regularly. Staying in touch with customers lets them know you are thinking about them, not taking them for granted. Send helpful information, not just advertising material. Customers like to know what you are thinking, not just what you are selling. The goal is to make customers want to come closer to your business.
8. Say "thank you" in many ways. A perceptive folk singer once wrote a delightful song called "Notice Me." It might well become the theme song for every business. Saying "thank you" sends the message that the customer is noticed.
9. Be enthusiastic. A customer could only conclude that the salesperson enjoyed being in the store. Her upbeat, positive attitude told the story. She liked the store, so my wife and I liked it, too. Her enthusiasm rubbed off on us. Maybe that's why we stayed longer and spent more there than any place else we went that day.
10. Provide an e-mail address. By itself, an e-mail address may not be particularly important. At the same time, it sends a signal that a business is accessible in ways that make sense to customers.
11. Hold a customer-appreciation day. Most of these events are, unfortunately, not-so-thinly-veiled gimmicks created to get customers to come and buy. A genuine customer-appreciation day should be just that, without an attempt to make a sale.
12. Recognize your long-term customers. No one wants to be taken for granted. That is why making an effort to let customers know you remember them overrides their fear of being forgotten. It's a way of saying, "we care."
13. Make realistic promises. It's easy to over-promise when competition is tough, but that only makes the situation worse. It is far better to be realistic and come through quicker or at a lower price. The goal is to look better, not worse.
14. Listen to the customer. Some businesses take this idea much too literally. Listening to the customer means gaining helpful information for ways to improve service, but it means much more. It means listening to the customer--letting customers talk about what's important to them at a time which may have nothing to do with what you are selling.
    It means being a good listener.
15. Respond promptly. It seems so simple, yet most of us respond to calls and requests according to our personal priorities. As a result, many items fall to the bottom of the pile. A prompt response means someone cares; a delayed one tells the opposite story.
16. Give them a surprise. It is easy to forget that every adult is also a 10-year-old! Kids like surprises. We all love the "Wow, that's great" feeling. Whether it's sending a birthday card or sending a note of congratulations, like surprises for customers are remembered--and appreciated.
17. Make it easy to do business with you. "But that's our procedure." These four words are customer killers. They're barriers that drive customers away from a business. Call MacMall, the Apple computer cataloguer, and it take seconds to place an order. "You'll have it tomorrow." The procedure is so simple and easy that you want to do it again. A prompt response means someone cares; a delayed one tells the opposite story.
18. Make your business look different. Most businesses are nondescript. Maybe a better word is blah. They're just there and there's nothing that sets them apart. They get business because they do an adequate job, and the owners seem satisfied with the way things are. This is a prescription for extinction. Make an effort to look different, from the design of the sign to the colors you use. RE/MAX, the real estate franchise, has a brightly colored balloon as its logo instead of the house most of its colleagues feature. "Me-too" doesn't make it today.
19. Make on-the-spot decisions. Phrases such as, "I'll have to get back to you about that," send customers to a competitor. Other lines to avoid include "Let me check with..." or "I don't know about that..." These phrases are designed to deny customers what they want: a decision. They should be avoided at all cost. Nothing satisfies customers more than forthright, on-the-spot decisions.
20. Create fun and excitement. (Consumer Rewards Loyalty Program) Dull drives customers away. In Atlantic City, Bally's Park Place is spending $80 million building a "Disneyesque" gambling area with a Wild West theme and rides. Another will take on a Hollywood look with movie props. The way to do more business is to make it fun.
21. Introduce something new. It may be as simple as changing the decor or the way a store is arranged, or it could be giving the company newsletter a new look and layout. A real estate broker redesigned his signs and inquiries increased.
22. Make invoices simple, clear and easy to read. The invoice is a company's most important piece of paper--and the most neglected. Invoices should be designed by experts in communication. When customers receive invoices, they should feel they received more than their money's worth. Hint: The description of what is purchased should seem bigger than the price charged. Invoices should be customized to pass the communications test.
23. Personalize all communications. Everything received by a customer should be fully personalized. No "Dear Customer" letters. And if the customer's name isn't spelled correctly, don't send it.
24. Show customers how to save money. Don't wait for the customer to ask how to cut costs; take the initiative. Be perceived as pro-active by showing customers ways to save money. They'll be less likely to bolt to a competitor for a lower price because they'll know that you are looking out for them.
25. Answer all telephone calls. In every business, some telephone calls don't get returned. This can be a big mistake, even though many are simply salespeople cold calling. Develop a reputation for talking to people.
26. Do something "extra." There's lots of talk about value-added. It is a good idea to dramatize the extras. While printing an order of letterhead, a printer adds a few hundred sheets personalized with the company president's name. It's a bonus for doing business with that printer. Kathy Missell of Infinity Books in Quincy, MA, sends customers "pre-publication" copies of books she thinks they will be interested in.
27. Answer the telephone properly and don't act hurried. Hurried hurts. "Good Morning, Curry Hardware. May I help you?" is so much better than "Ajax." Yet, we hear "Ajax," all the time. Acting hurried raises the customer's anxiety level and results in unsatisfactory communication. Because the telephone is the most vital link between a business and its customers, it should be used properly.

These 27 tools for increasing customer loyalty may be helpful individually, but it takes using a number of them at the same time to make a significant impact. Although there are many more possibilities for strengthening customer loyalty, taking action is essential. If you don't take the steps necessary to capture the customer's loyalty, you can be sure that a competitor will.

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This resource is copyright (c) by, and compliments of John R. Graham, President of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm.