Customers are bombarded with messages everyday but flock to the same 1-2 brands. Businesses are relying on advertising and their staff to keep their customer base loyal. Conscious leaders however are forging more innovative ways to achieve sustainable performance using loyalty.
If we look at the way businesses are approaching sustainable performance today, loyalty is fast becoming a stale issue right now. Seasons change, competition becomes stiff and staff morale is lowered which negatively impacts performance. Meanwhile our customers’ attention is constantly being pulled towards a different advert. However there is little shift in their preference if any.
Customers and the community at large will often choose a brand that serves them well and meets their expectations. Once these requirements are met, customers become loyal to the brand. Sustainable business performance is built on these 3 aspects; community loyalty, staff loyalty and customer loyalty. For some loyalty is a value while for others a result of adding value to their lives. The more an entity is able to add value to a community, user and staff, the more likely it is to garner loyalty from them.
True market leadership comes from cultivating trust and legacy with the community around. In this context ‘community’ includes the government, tax authorities and the people living around your business. Trust and legacy are what build community loyalty. Many businesses currently are making the same mistake. We work hard to keep staff satisfied but forget to take care of our customers, or vice versa. In order to build sustainable performance; customer, community and staff loyalty must be worked on simultaneously.
Building staff loyalty is important because they are the primary interaction with our customers. “Treat others as you may have them treat you” goes the saying. This applies to how staff will treat customers as well. When we commit to leading our staff the best way possible, as leaders not managers, we inspire them to be committed and productive staff which is the basis on which customer loyalty is built.
Tanzanian companies like Bakhresa and Mohammed Enterprises are able to gain loyalty by creating a legacy of supporting local talents and communities. From their pricing, product offering to their marketing, it’s no surprise why they are on the forefront. I admire how they run their business; sourcing from local farmers around their factories, hiring locals to work their machines and all their CSR efforts are geared towards making sure they serve the Tanzanian people and create loyalty by inserting themselves into the everyday lives of the Tanzanian people.
Universally all people understand two things; football and music. Both are big in Tanzania. With the former, it is evident by the huge crowds of people hurdling around radios and televisions in public places closely following the matches. MeTL supports Simba FC, one of the two biggest Tanzanian clubs. Azam has a local Tanzanian football club named Azam FC. Both teams contribute players to Taifa Stars hence garnering them support on a national scale. Through Azam decoder and satellite TV, matches are broadcasted to many and Bakhresa brands are advertised frequently. People then associated these companies and their brands with their everyday lives. They communicate with the people on their terms, using football to gain loyalty from both the community and their staff.
It is easy to think leaders have been blessed with endless supply to intelligence to choose the winning horse every time. Conscious leaders however are taking the time to invest in strengthening relationships that will result in trust. When staff and community trust businesses, the rest is building a legacy of consistency in reliability, respect and resourcefulness. A good legacy allows you to sell without selling.
Great products, creative marketing and extravagant launches are good but loyal followers effectively changed how our businesses perform.