think global Herbst 2018
praxis
32
Trust is Dead. Long Live Trust! Why Long-Term Customer Loyalty is Still Driven by Trusted Relationships
von Mark Marone
Customer loyalty is the goal of every business – it results in lower acquisition costs, increased revenue, and allows companies to maximize the lifetime value of each customer. Recent years have produced a multitude of “new” sales approaches claiming to drive it, yet despite the hype, long-term customer loyalty still relies on a trust-based buyer-seller relationship. Why? Business buyers experience significant risk. They incur financial risk for significant expenditures, risk to their professional reputations, risk wasting time, and risk that the purchased solutions won’t solve the problem as anticipated. Trust, therefore, plays an essential role – there is no relationship without it. In a recent study, Dale Carnegie & Associates examined these concepts with a survey of more than 1,600 consumers in the largest markets worldwide.1 Research has long shown that when customers believe a salesperson is honest and that their actions are aligned with their interests, they are likely to be highly-satisfied and loyal. In fact, 71% of
respondents in our study said they would rather buy from a salesperson they completely trusted than one who gave them a lower price. What drives trust? Survey respondents commonly cited the importance* of having a salesperson who is knowled geable, shows care and empathy toward the customer, is positive and confident and who clearly communicates values. In the selling process, building trust from the earliest phases lays the foundation for strong business relationships. And while customers rarely say having a strong relationship with their salesperson is crucial, they are very likely to place a high value on the behaviors they say lead to positive relationships. These critical behaviors include liste ning to understand needs, respecting the buyer’s time and taking care of problems for them. These same respondents also told us what strong relationships are NOT about. Few said they involve sharing personal interests or contact just to be in touch. This is a key distinction between perso-
In fact, 71 % of respondents in our study said they would rather buy from a salesperson they completely trusted than one who gave them a lower price.
