Dottie DeHart, owner of DeHart & Co., emailed us about business consultant Robbie Kellman Baxter's new book, The Membership Economy: Find Your Superusers, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue, which she thought would interest our readers since merchant stickiness is of perennial importance to ISOs and merchant level salespeople.
"Capturing a customer is hard enough," DeHart wrote. "Keeping that customer is even tougher. For one thing, so many competitors crowd the marketplace that [customers] can quickly and easily find a cheaper, faster, sexier version of what you offer. For another, customers simply expect more. They demand fast solutions to their problems, great experiences, and plenty of personalization and perks. Finally, it doesn't take much to lose a customer. They don't even have to have a bad experience; many customers leave because of perceived indifference on the part of salespeople."
According to DeHart, Baxter believes companies must be intentional about keeping customers engaged in using their products or services, and constant engagement is now imperative for creating relationships with customers that last.
"Whether they realize it or not, customers crave more value from their relationship with brands, and brands must find ever more innovative ways to provide it," DeHart wrote. "Once you get customers emotionally invested they will stick with your brand, buy more and spread the word about you to other potential customers. (This provides much greater ROI than your efforts to acquire new customers.)"
DeHart said the push for exceptional customer experiences is part of a shift toward what Baxter calls the "membership economy." The membership economy model is based on a "customer-centric strategy using topics like subscription price, inclusiveness and digital platforms that draw people in and win their loyalty," DeHart added. "People today expect to be engaged, and if they don't experience engagement with your organization, they will find it somewhere else."
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