SPARKS! Blog

Could customer experience actually be considered a profit center?

Often we hear from senior leaders sharing their directives, “Margin and profit are everything, if we don’t have profitability, we’re done.” You can hear that sentiment in hallway conversations most anywhere.

This position is often used as a finite, concrete, “buck-stops- here” reason to not apply resources (spend money- allocate talent- devote time) on anything that can’t show a direct bottom line impact on profits.

Problem is: that thinking is fundamentally flawed....

What if we replaced “Margin and profit is everything” with “Customer loyalty is everything?” Can you feel the focus shift? And do you think, if made a keystone of our leadership communication, that the customer experience would elevate beyond a number on a profit & loss statement?

The ultimate business strategy involves working toward customer loaylty:

• Customers' Intent to Return
• Customers' Intent to Refer

Customers, after all, are from whom we earn our profits. And, if we can consistently deliver on experience, and customers consistently return, and they consistantly refer their friends, family and colleagues...voila! We've improved our customer loyalty and increased our profits.

If you want your team to deliver a superior customer experience, you must focus on customer experience...and profits on the balance sheets will follow.

Inspire your team to relentlessly focus on creating customer loyalty.

Check out our related posts:

• Customer Experience is a Business Strategy

• Does Your Employee Scripting Boost Customer Experience?

ABOUT DONNELLY EFFECT: With over 20 years of Disney leadership experience, Mike Donnelly, Chief Experience Officer (CEO) of Donnelly Effect shares his insights on Talent Selection and Hiring, New Employee Orientation, Customer Experience, Workplace Culture and Leadership- among others. Donnelly Effect is home of the exclusive "World-Class Workshop" series and offers consulting services and keynote addresses to audiences of all sizes and industries. Since 2004, Mike Donnelly has been a contracted Disney Institute Facilitator, delivering Disney training to audiences across the United States.