The Seven Rungs on the Ladder of Customer Loyalty

By: Admin

There are two aspects to increase the value of your marketing which in turn creates profits in your business. What are these two sides of marketing? In short, they are Acquisition Cost and Lifetime Value.

The goal of Marketing in the business should be to reduce the Acquisition Cost and increase the Lifetime Value. So, we will reserve Acquisition Cost for a later discussion and focus on how you develop the Lifetime value of your customers.

Based on the knowledge that it is six times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to sell more products and services into your current customer base, ActionCOACH has created a system to build customer loyalty. The concept I discuss in my book, “Instant Repeat Business,” is to increase lifetime value by using the Ladder of Loyalty:

Raving Fan

Advocate

Member

Customer

Shopper

Prospect

Suspect

The concept is to categorize each and every name in your prospect and customer database into levels according to their loyalty to your business.

You start with SUSPECTS which are businesses that fit into what you have defined as your target market. Any name that you obtain through marketing efforts that fits your criteria enters the Ladder of Loyalty at the SUSPECT level.

Once the SUSPECT becomes interested in your product or service and makes an inquiry, you would move the business up to the PROSPECT level.

Next, a SHOPPER would be a business that buys once from you, but has not yet determined that you are a vendor he or she wants to do business with again.

If the business buys more than once, then the SHOPPER becomes a CUSTOMER.

Once the CUSTOMER becomes a consistent buyer of your products and services, you may begin offering incentives and privileges to them so that they become MEMBERS, and no longer look elsewhere for competitive products or services.

MEMBERS do business with you because of the relationship and trust that you have developed.

An ADVOCATE is where your MEMBERS begin selling for you through testimonials and referrals.

An ADVOCATE becomes a RAVING FAN when he/she cannot stop selling for you. Anytime a RAVING FAN is out in the community they are promoting you to everyone about how wonderful you are.

Now, here are some important questions: How many RAVING FANS do you have in your customer base? What would happen to your business if you moved everyone in your database up one level?

Massive profits do not occur by bringing more SUSPECTS or PROSPECTS into your database, but rather moving MEMBERS to ADVOCATES and then to RAVING FANS.

Massive profits occur at the RAVING FAN level. As an assignment, go into your prospect and customer database and determine how many businesses you have at each level. You will create a world of opportunity once you begin to implement strategies for each level on the Ladder of Loyalty.

About ActionCOACH

Brad Sugars founded the brand Action International in 1993 when he realized there was a disconnect between business advice and implementation. The answer was Action! Brad Sugars created a business coaching company so that business owners throughout the world can realize their goals in business. Today the company is known as ActionCOACH. To learn more about business, visit Brad Sugars Review blog

Reason #1: Different styles and methods of business coaching don't work for everyone

It's important to be honest with yourself and conduct a realistic assessment when it comes to business coaching. Though business coaching can have many benefits, it might not work for everyone.

Every individual brings their own experiences and values to the coaching dynamic, so results will vary. Additionally, some individuals might need more than just a coach. They might also need specialised knowledge or communication strategies specific to their industry or target audience. Below are a few key factors to consider:

Reason #2: There is no clear focus or vision (talk about time dedication here too)

cIt's important to be honest with yourself and conduct a realistic assessment when it comes to business coaching. Though business coaching can have many benefits, it might not work for everyone.

Business coaching is an effective tool for developing a clearer focus and vision for growing your business. A good coach will help you to take a comprehensive look at your strengths, weaknesses, and available resources that can be used to reach those goals. They will also help you draw up action plans with step-by-step instructions to get there.

By providing honest feedback and being patient throughout the process, a business coach can make sure that you’re on the right track. This will enable you to set realistic milestones and tasks.

These tasks may need dedicated time outside of coaching sessions. For example, a coach might help a client develop a marketing strategy or implement new systems for managing employees. However, if the client does not have enough time to devote to these tasks outside of coaching sessions, progress will likely stall.

Both the coach and the client must have enough time available to reflect on past experiences, brainstorm new solutions, and test out different strategies. If either party is rushed or distracted during coaching sessions due to other commitments or obligations, they may struggle to fully engage in this process.

Effective business coaching also requires a commitment to regular meetings and ongoing communication. If either the coach or the client does not have enough time to dedicate to these meetings, progress may be slow or nonexistent.

It's important to recognise that business coaching is an ongoing process that takes time to yield results. While some clients may see improvements after just a few sessions with their coach. Others may need months or even years of consistent effort before they begin seeing real changes in their businesses.

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