I believe some of us may still think that the principle of Customer Loyalty is much the same as the principle of Customer Satisfaction. At glance, both of them are similar, aren’t they? We generally believe that both principles are in one chain and have a significant contribution to the organization growth. We just easily assume that if we can transform our satisfied customers into the loyal ones, then we will be able to predict our company growth. However, we cannot aptly appoint which category acts as a bridge between Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty.
Recently, some scholars have tried to distinguish them. They believe each principle has its own method of measurement to reveal or to predict the growth index. For some scholars who hold on to one principle claim that their measurement is to be the best one. In 2003, Fred Reichheld introduced NPS (Net Promoter Score) and claimed the method as the best predictor of growth. We use this method to identify Customer Loyalty level toward one organization depending on referral behavior. The claim then has brought up pro and con especially from those who still believe in ASCI (American Customer Satisfaction Index).
In my own perspective, either loyal customer or satisfied customer will utterly contribute something very significant to the growth of one organization. So, we may use either NPS or ACSI as a method to predict the growth. I assure you that nothing is wrong with the measurements. However, there are few crucial things that I want to point out:
- The growth of the company does not merely depend on loyal or satisfied customers. It also depends on our tactics and strategic on our Marketing and Selling including how accurate our Pricing is to grab a maximum market share. The more segments we can accommodate the better our ‘long-last’ growth will be.
- Loyal customers may not always come from satisfied customers. Likewise, satisfied customers may not always become the loyal ones. However, either loyal or satisfied customer may be willing to take a part as a recommender of our business.
- Being loyal into one brand or one organization cannot be labeled only by the reason of the willingness of recommendation (we know it as a referral behavior) and the repetition of the purchase order, but also by strong individual or group provision of ‘cannot live without it!’ which means ‘there’s no other way (brand) which not only can fulfill or satisfy my need or desire but also has a memorable (unforgettable) experience in my life except this one!’
So, up to this point, how many of you agree or disagree with me? If you have any valuable idea in your mind which related to this topic that you want to share with us, please be free! Next, we will discuss more about Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction.
