NASHVILLE, TN — Customers today expect to be able to give and receive feedback from the companies with which they do business, motivational speaker Lorna Riley told attendees of the National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment here yesterday.
Riley, who gave the final keynote speech at the conference, told her luncheon audience that consumers expect to partner with the companies they choose by giving the companies information about how to meet their expectations. Consumers also expect companies to be familiar with them and to give them personalized advice about products.
Doing so is a crucial aspect of making your customers into your company's strongest marketing tool, Riley said.
“You need a complete, one-to-one relationship to turn customers into advocates,” Riley said. “If you make somebody happy, they tell two people. If you tick somebody off, they tell 10 people.”
Modern companies need to be able to act quickly and have the flexibility to respond to a rapidly changing business environment, Riley said. They also should create goals and visions that are designed to achieve results, and focus on those goals.
“If the vision isn't clear, things will wind up out of sync,” Riley said. “Your role is to create as clear a vision as possible.”
The NCOF, which started Sunday, was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center here. The Direct Marketing Association-sponsored event is scheduled to end today.
