Interesting article today in 1 to 1 Media about how Walt Disney viewed customer loyalty:

Walt Disney once said: "Do what you do so well they want to come back and bring their friends." 

Well said. I spent over 7 years in the customer loyalty business before coming to TownHog. People occasionally ask me how I could make the transition to a business that, on the surface, is incorrectly perceived to not be fostering loyalty. I wish I had previously had Walt's quote to answer.

Daily local deals are a great way to have consumers explore and discover fantastic businesses and services. Unlike traditional coupons or banner ads, this is a way to ensure that the customer is highly motivated to come to the business and spend money with the business. But Walt (and 1 to 1 Media makes this point well) is right: once they are in your business, if you give them a fantastic experience, it won't matter one bit what brought them there: they will come back and spread the word.

Unlike sites like Groupon or Living Social, we have the benefit of not having deal seekers as our customers (primarily, they are subscribers to news, entertainment, or sports media consumers), but this should be an excellent goal for all businesses who want to try a Daily Deal:

• Ensure the employees look at these customers as future best customers: welcome them, congratulate them on the deal, and make a point of highlighting your business.
• Assume each customer who comes in will be telling 3 of their friends what the experience was. What do you want them to say?
  • As 1 to 1 Media points out, with social media, whatever they say will be shared with everyone.
• Assume you had two customers who walked in the door: one you could pay $1, and have a 20% chance of coming back to you in the next 30 days; the other you don't pay anything but you have no idea what % chance you have. 
  • Would you pay that $1 to improve your odds? 
  • What if you could triple those odds by providing a memorable experience? Wouldn't you?

So what does this mean? 1 to 1 provides this summary:

• Customer experience leaders have almost 13 percent more customers that are likely to recommend them than customer experience laggards.
• Customer experience leaders have almost 11 percent more customers willing to buy more products from them than customer experience laggards.

Daily deals customers are not "bottom feeders," or "bad customers;" they are average people who want a new experience and are willing to put their money behind it. Reward their faith with a great experience, and you will be rewarded with loyal customers, and daily deals have the best potential to create loyal customers to date.