If you are the former, you are the kind of customer companies covet. If you are the latter, chances are there is a company out there that would love to convert you to the former.
These companies are the reason Brand Keys conducts its annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index survey. The telephone survey probes consumers' attitudes towards the products they buy and the stores they shop regularly to discover what brands produce the strongest emotional and rational attachments.
If you live outside the South or Midwest, you may not have heard of the department store chain that tied with Kohl's for top honors, but residents of those areas find that Dillard's delivers a delightful shopping experience. Must be the customer service.
And all those years of trying harder have finally paid off for Avis, which topped the rankings of car rental companies.
Still, the brands that you might expect to find leading their categories are there for good reasons. Take Apple, for instance. Anyone who has stood in a long line to get their hands on the latest iSensation knows that the brand leader in laptop computers has a knack for generating fanatically devoted customers by making electronic products that combine high style with ease of use.
Walmart shoppers also know what they will get whenever they shop there, and they like it enough to make the chain the leading brand among discounters. The same goes for McDonald's, the brand leader in fast food, which has quick service down to a science.
The thing all the brand leaders have in common is that the companies behind them focus intensely on delivering a consistently satisfying, well defined experience to their customers, who in turn reward the companies with their loyalty. It takes continuous effort to do this, and companies that lose that focus eventually lose that loyalty, just like Holiday Inn has among midrange hotel patrons.
Job seekers can learn something from these brand leaders. In this case, the employer is the customer and the job seeker the product. What kind of experience do you promise your customers? Do you deliver a consistently satisfying, quality product - like Tide?
By Sandy Smith
Sandy Smith is a veteran freelance writer, editor and public relations professional who lives in Philadelphia. Besides blogging for RetailGigs.com, he has written for numerous publications and websites, would be happy to do your resume, and is himself actively seeking career opportunities on Nexxt. Check out his LinkedIn profile and read his other posts on RetailGigsBlog.com.
And all those years of trying harder have finally paid off for Avis, which topped the rankings of car rental companies.
Still, the brands that you might expect to find leading their categories are there for good reasons. Take Apple, for instance. Anyone who has stood in a long line to get their hands on the latest iSensation knows that the brand leader in laptop computers has a knack for generating fanatically devoted customers by making electronic products that combine high style with ease of use.
Walmart shoppers also know what they will get whenever they shop there, and they like it enough to make the chain the leading brand among discounters. The same goes for McDonald's, the brand leader in fast food, which has quick service down to a science.
The thing all the brand leaders have in common is that the companies behind them focus intensely on delivering a consistently satisfying, well defined experience to their customers, who in turn reward the companies with their loyalty. It takes continuous effort to do this, and companies that lose that focus eventually lose that loyalty, just like Holiday Inn has among midrange hotel patrons.
Job seekers can learn something from these brand leaders. In this case, the employer is the customer and the job seeker the product. What kind of experience do you promise your customers? Do you deliver a consistently satisfying, quality product - like Tide?
By Sandy Smith
Sandy Smith is a veteran freelance writer, editor and public relations professional who lives in Philadelphia. Besides blogging for RetailGigs.com, he has written for numerous publications and websites, would be happy to do your resume, and is himself actively seeking career opportunities on Nexxt. Check out his LinkedIn profile and read his other posts on RetailGigsBlog.com.
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