“Employee commitment directly impacts brand perception, customer loyalty – and, ultimately, revenue. Research has shown that 70% of customers’ feelings about a brand can be traced to their experiences with employees; 68% of defecting customers leave due to negative employee attitudes, while 41% of customers who stay do so because of positive encounters with employees. To strengthen bonds with customers through employee interactions, companies must work to develop committed relationships with employees, too. Actively committed employees have positive attitudes towards, during, and after work hours and are diligent about fulfilling their employer’s brand promise – whether serving customers or working with colleagues.”
– Jim Heisler, Ph.D., senior vp, Stakeholder Relationship Consulting, Harris Interactive

“Positive employee attitudes and actions are what create positive customer experiences. But I worry that in this economy, some employers think they don’t need to motivate and reward employees. Nothing could be further from the truth. Employers must ask themselves what motivation their staff has – day in and day out – to do things they have determined will create customer loyalty. It may be as simple as pats on the back or employee-of-the month recognition. If you can’t do that, then all the fancy customer loyalty systems won’t matter.”
– Bob Thompson, ceo, CustomerThink Corp.

“First, we only hire staff with what we think of as a ‘hospitality gene.’ Then, in staff meetings we underscore the importance of treating customers as if they are in our home. For example, there’s always someone at the door to welcome them and to say thank you as they’re leaving, even carry leftovers to their cars. We remind our people that in their own homes they’d never let a guest leave without saying ‘goodbye.’ As a result, our customers, particularly regulars, are very connected to us – and they feel they have a stake in what we’re doing.”
– Jean Kerrigan and Rick Hirsch, owners, Damariscotta River Grill, Damariscotta, ME