• understanding CLV - Customer Lifetime Value  (bottom of page 17)
• keeping customers is just as important as getting customers
• customer loyalty points programs

• one of the best points about having a happy customer is that they will provide referrals to new customers who are usually families and friends
• some companies try to do this aggressively like MCI - which in turn cause people to dislike the company, but some companies do this in a nice way, like Ford: Ford will give a chq for $100 if you provide a lead to a customer who ends up buying a car from the same dealership you dealt with
• working on customers to "champion" your product could be referred to as turning your customers into brand "Ambassadors", a term Prof. Richardson has been using since 1997

This screen capture shows a company inviting customers to become "Brand Ambassadors"

 

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"Customer Relationship Management" has become necessary in a very competitive marketplace were people all over the world are trying to take your customers by offering a lower price, or more features - this becomes difficult though since the technological environment and the economic environment becomes more globalized. When  the technological environment and the economic environment becomes more globalized it means that the distinguishing features between company's products is less and less - so, how do you get someone to buy your stuff - the answer is to have a relationship with the customer. Having a relationship with the customer is considered valuable since you can learn things to increasingly provide better service, and it also leads to CLV, as well as cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. See also  witiger.com/marketing/CLVandVelvetRopeCustomers.htm WTGR

I used to work at Best Buy (Computers Section) and the most important thing that the company is structured on is building a powerful RELATIONSHIPS with our customers and being able to connect with them as well. I think thats really how Best Buy has such a strong retention and recovery basis.

Basically when meeting the customer, we were basically taught to connect with them at a psychological level: Make them feel that we were their friends, rather than sales men. So basically start off by asking lifestyle questions: "So your studying business at York? I'm doing the same program at U.T.M ..." 

The idea here is to get a very strong relation with your customer that he/she begins to listen to every word you say (influence, if you will).

"So I know you'll be doing a lot with numbers so make sure you grab a 4GB memory computers; its going to get you more speed when you have all those assignments due ..."

Sometimes, you connect so well with the customer that your able to convince him to buy more products/Services on the side (Mouse, bags, locks, 'set up services', 'warranties', etc). Thats basically how Best Buy is able to have such a strong client base while selling everything for full price, unlike futureshop that is profitable from its ability to discount.