Alice Milligan, chief customer-experience officer at Citi, emphasizes the importance of loyalty for business success, both from customers and employees. She shares strategies for developing loyalty, such as understanding customer perceptions, engaging employees, and recognizing their contributions. Milligan also highlights the necessity of fostering a supportive company culture that balances the needs of customers, employees, and shareholders.

1. COMING
BACK
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How to Build Loyalty
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2. Alice Milligan, Chief Customer-Experience Officer
of Citi Cards at Citi, firmly believes that what
businesses really need in order to thrive is loyalty.
From her tenure leading customer-experience
strategy at companies like Coach, American
Express and ATT, Milligan has witnessed firsthand
how loyalty—from both employees and customers
—can make or break a business.
MEET ALICE MILLIGAN!

3. Alice answered questions
about loyalty in business from
members of Connect:
Professional Women's
Network. Here's some of her
most popular advice.

4. We've just launched a new business. What more can we do to show that
we are an authority on the subject and begin developing loyalty? Begin
by asking questions to inform your strategy: Identify influencers, bloggers
or other people in the field who might believe in your product/service. Are
there opportunities to leverage them and their following to build
awareness and recognition?

5. HOWTO:
BUILD CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Ø Conduct focus groups to understand how you’re viewed by
customers/users and how you can differentiate.
Ø Ensure you know the value you add outside of the big
competitors––and that customers can see it.
Ø Make sure you’re going to where your potential customers
are vs. expecting them to come to you.
Ø Research what content, social or otherwise, your customers
consume. Are you present there?
Ø Create a consistent loyalty program that rewards/incents the
behavior you are looking to drive.

6. Any advice for training our
representatives to show
they truly care about our
customers? Find out what
customers are saying about
the best, most empathetic
reps. Are they things you
could replicate and scale?
One way to drive employee
engagement is by asking
those top rate agents what
they do and why. They could
be mentors and coaches to
others to help improve overall
performance and it recognizes
them as starts as well.

7. If you're new to an organization, how do you gain the loyalty of existing
employees—particularly when they're resistant to change? First, listen. When
people are excited about coming into a new organization they are usually full of
ideas on how to make things better. However, even if you've been brought in to
create change, you should spend plenty of time in your first few months listening.

8. HOWTO:
GAIN EMPLOYEE TRUST
LISTEN: What's working and what's not? Who is a
change agent and who might be a blocker? Listen and
observe. Then, adjust your plan to incorporate
learnings.
RECOGNIZE: The successes the team has had, the
barriers they face and the progress they have made.
ENGAGE: Once you do the above, set out the clear
vision and rallying cry of where you will go as a team.

9. How can I advise fellow leaders
on retaining the talent they’re
losing without offending them?
One of the most effective ways
to get leaders to listen is to show
them what it means for them and
their bottom line. Position the
feedback in a way that isn’t about
them, which can make someone
defensive, and be sure to
schedule private time with them.

10. HOWTO:
RETAIN TOP TALENT
FRAME your advice, for example: I'm committed to
ensuring that we're successful and effective. I want us
to be the team everyone wants to work with or on. One
way I think we could be more effective is X, Y, Z.”
FOCUS on the solution and provide objective data, i.e.
team attrition rates vs. overall company average,
success rates on acquiring top talent, declines in avg.
tenure and costs associated with those in lost revenue,
training costs.
If you lay out the facts in an objective way, provide
specific examples and provide solutions, I've found
leaders to be very receptive.

11. What role does company culture play in developing and maintaining
customer loyalty? How employees treat customers and each other is driven by
company values, rewards systems and culture. If employees are recognized and
rewarded for going above and beyond then they will. Their ratings and reviews
should balance the three most important stakeholders in a company:
customers, employees and shareholders.

12. What are some ways to recognize and show appreciation for my staff?
Showing employees they are valued is very important for gaining loyalty
and keeping everyone motivated. I try to ask employees during updates
and one-on-ones how they like to be recognized so that I know.

13. HOWTO: SHOW GRATITUDE
• Write specific thank you notes about what you observed, why it was
great and how it felt.
• Give them unexpected time off
• Buy them lunch, flowers or a car wash
• Give them a gift card to take their significant other, friend or child out
to eat. Send thank you notes to their family when they have put in
significant time in the office, too.
• Recognize them at a team meeting for an accomplishment, and arrange
for them to present their project or success to senior leadership
• Give them a raise if you have the power to do so and it is deserved––
without them having to ask.
• Send them a happy birthday note. The fact that you knew means a lot.
• Ask them to mentor new or junior employee.

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for more information and to join the group for free!
For more great insights on negotiation,
check out Alice Milligan’s chat in Connect.
PHOTO CREDITS:
1: Brand New Images/Getty Images
6: Sam Edwards/Getty Images
11: Oppenheim Bernhard/Getty Images
12: Stephen Mallon/Getty Images

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