Becoming an Ambassador: Are Your Clients 29 Percenters?

Accounting Today Guest Post

Think for a moment about all the brands, products, and services you buy in a given day or week. Is there that one you would intentionally seek out, that one that you would go out of your way to buy, even if other options were available?

If the answer is yes, then that company has created a sense of loyalty in you. Loyalty is what helps them to rise above everyone else in your decision-making process.

An example from my life is that I fly frequently for work. Even if another airline offers a lower fare or a direct flight, Southwest Airlines is always my first choice.

Why? First, they deliver consistently on baseline expectations. For example, Southwest gets me and my luggage safely and on time to my destination. Second, there’s an emotional connection to my experience with Southwest. I feel stress free, I have a sense of freedom because I can easily change travel plans, and I feel welcomed every time.

It’s that combination of meeting expectations and creating an emotional connection that improves loyalty. Developing loyalty is growing as a critical factor in professional services, as well.

Satisfaction used to be the highest measure of success, and it’s still what many companies measure. But frankly, it has now become a lowest common denominator. Research from Gallup indicates that only 29 percent of clients are truly engaged with us.

So, how can you create loyal clients? The answer is that you must become an ambassador.

I recently delved into this this topic on the Accounting Today blog, Voices, providing some information on industry trends, as well as skills that help set ambassadors apart from their competitors.

Read the article here.