The document outlines the importance of customer loyalty for businesses, emphasizing that retaining existing customers is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. It highlights five companies—Nordstrom, Amazon, Southwest Airlines, Apple, and Chipotle—each known for their exceptional customer service and retention strategies that inspire loyalty. These companies successfully differentiate themselves through unique value propositions, such as rewards programs, convenience, service quality, innovative products, and social responsibility.

1. Doing it Right: Five
Companies with
Exceptional
Customer Loyalty

2. Did you know
that it’s five
times more
expensive to 5x$
recruit a new
customer than it
is to retain a
current one?

3. How about that
by increasing
Profits your customer
Increase retention rate you
can increase
25% to your company’s
125% profitability by
anywhere from
25% to 125%?

4. It’s clear that current customers
represent an incredible amount of
value for businesses, yet The Harvard
Business Review estimates that on
average businesses lose 50% of their
customers every five years.
50% of Customers Leave
in 5 Years

5. Achieving high levels of
customer loyalty is no easy
task. Building brand loyalty
requires a concentrated effort
on the part of businesses to
differentiate themselves and
continuously improve their
customer relationships.

6. However, in every
industry there are
a few companies
whose legendary
customer
retention can
serve as a guide
to others.

7. Here is a list of five exemplary
companies that inspire
customer loyalty to help inspire
you.

8. 1. Nordstrom:
Exceptional
Customer Service
and Rewards

9. NORDSTROM
Nordstrom has always been
known for exceptional
customer service in the retail
industry. The Nordstrom
employees have one rule:
“Use good judgment in all
situations,” which empowers
employees to do whatever it
takes to achieve superior
customer satisfaction
without dealing with difficult
rules and regulations.

10. NORDSTROM
In addition to a service oriented
company culture, Nordstrom has a
valuable loyalty rewards program that
engages customers and provides real
benefits to frequent buyers.

11. NORDSTROM
Their loyalty program
provides early access to Members of the
sales, free tailoring, and Fashion
other discounts while Rewards
the tiered nature of the Program shop
program encourages twice as often
customers to stay loyal and spend three
to the brand by as much as the
encouraging them to average
spend more in order to customer.
gain further benefits.

12. NORDSTROM
Personal interactions between
employees and customers and an
exceptional loyalty rewards program
means that Nordstrom has many
customers-for-life and extremely high
customer loyalty when compared to
other department stores.

13. 2. Amazon.com:
Superior
Convenience and
Service

14. AMAZON.COM
Amazon.com has consistently strong
customer loyalty because of its focus
on a simple and customer-centric
shopping experience. Amazon is
second to none in product availability,
making it easy for customers to find
what they need, no matter how obscure.

15. AMAZON.COM
Customers using Amazon have easy access
to product information, reviews, pricing from
multiple sellers, and product suggestions
based on previous purchases. This plethora
of information simplifies each purchase
decision and increases customer confidence.

16. AMAZON.COM
In addition,
Amazon Prime
provides
benefits for loyal
shoppers such
as free two-day
shipping and
other discounts.

17. AMAZON.COM
Amazon.com has exceptional
customer loyalty because of
their focus on simplifying the
customer shopping experience.

18. 3. Southwest
Airlines: Focus on
Service and Value

19. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Southwest Airlines has superior
customer loyalty because of their belief
that their company is “in the customer
service business – it just happens to fly
airplanes.”

20. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Southwest promotes a better customer experience
by hiring employees based on attitude rather than
work experience, and then training them to both
perform their jobs effectively and represent the
company in a positive manner every step of the
way.
By hiring employees that are willing to engage,
Southwest ensures that customers will have the
best service experience possible while flying.

21. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Southwest is able to offer lower prices and provide
greater value to customers by flying just one type
of aircraft, offering point to point flights instead of
the traditional hub and spoke model, and their
simple no-frills service with fewer fees than
competitors.
Image from
Wikimedia
http://commons.wiki
media.org/wiki/File:S
outhwest_Airlines_R
oute_20110327.png

22. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Customers are
loyal because
they can get
where they need
to go easily and
at a lower cost.

23. 4. Apple: Impressive
Products and
Customer Support

24. APPLE
Apple, which has a customer
retention rate of over 90%,
achieves impressive customer
loyalty through its exceptional
products and focus on
customer service. Customers
are likely to stick with Apple
because of its app store, iTunes,
cloud services, and Siri voice
recognition.

25. APPLE
Apple’s reputation for innovation means
customers are willing to pay to upgrade their
products even for rather minor additions rather
than switch brands. The consistent interface
makes it easy for Apple users to adapt to new
products and provides a consistent experience.

26. APPLE
Apple also outperforms its
competitors in customer
service. The Apple Genius
Bar and simple service
agreements make it easy
for Apple’s customers to
get the support they need.
Apple customers are loyal
because Apple goes above
and beyond in both its
products and service.

27. 5. Chipotle: Fresh
Ingredients and
Social
Responsibility

28. CHIPOTLE
Chipotle has been able to maintain customer loyalty
even in the face of rising prices because customers
are willing to pay more for fresh, sustainably grown
ingredients. Customers are consistently loyal to
Chipotle because they offer a healthier option for
fast food and provide extremely quick service even
at rushed meal times.

29. CHIPOTLE
Chipotle recently
launched the exclusive
“Farm Team” loyalty
program that offers
benefits to their best
customers while
teaching them about the
company’s efforts to
provide fresh food in an
environmentally friendly
way through the Food
with Integrity Program.

30. CHIPOTLE
Chipotle’s customers are loyal to the
brand because of its commitment to
social responsibility while providing a
superior product.

31. Whether it’s because
of personalized
customer service,
social responsibility,
or simply a better
product, these
companies stand out
because of their high
levels of customer
satisfaction.

32. By creating loyal customers-for-life,
businesses can increase their overall
profitability while gaining a valuable
resource for brand evangelization and
growth.