I am talking about the customer-company relationship. Emotions rule the relationship. It is all about the “love.”

According to the work presented in the book Human Sigma by Dr. John Fleming and Jim Asplund, the primary difference between a satisfied customer (they sometimes come back) and a loyal customer (they always come back and tell their friends about you) is the emotional connection the customer feels to the product, brand or company. When customers feel the love, they commit.

Check in on Southwest Airlines. Its ticker symbol is “LUV.” Here is an organization that understands its success is directly related to the emotions it creates with its employees, and the emotions it inspires between its employees and customers. All carriers can bring you safely from point A to point B. What keeps you traveling on a particular carrier is how they make you feel when they bring you from point A to point B. They have to get it right, AND make you feel the love.

There was a time no so long ago that the greatest discussion companies and customers had was about quality, price and product availability. As our economy moved from products to service, customers still expect the service to be done right the first time. But what activates their loyalty (not just satisfaction) is how they feel when they receive the service. Does your company get it right, AND do exceptional things to create a strong emotional connection with the customer?

These companies create exceptional workplaces and hire the best employees who are passionately committed to consistently “wowing” customers. These employees commit to stand-out service because they know this kind of service wins customers for life, which drives the bottom line.

So in this post, just two questions:
1. How do your employees create the “love”?
2. Do your customers feel the “love”?

Don’t know? You need to ask. Ask your employees how they do (and can do) more than just get it right for the customers. Then ask your customers if they see and feel the extra effort, attention and commitment from your employees.

So, what’s love got to do with it? Everything – “love” is a bottom-line issue.

Please forward this to someone who can benefit from it, and contact me to help create an A-level workforce capable of showing the love and activating customer loyalty.