Another great article from the November/December 2011 issue of Costco Connection magazine.
Most business owners feel it's mission accomplished when they make a sale or close a deal. Not so for Costco member Christ Zane, owner of Zane's Cycles in Branford, Connecticut.
"At Zane's, we've failed if all we've done is complete a transaction with a customer," he writes in Reinventing the Wheel: The Science of Creating Lifetime Customers (BenBella Books, 2011; www.chriszane.com). That's because success lies not in a single sale, but in establishing a connection with a customer that can last a lifetime.
It sounds odd to pooh-pooh a sale, but here's why: Zane, who has run his bike shop since 1980, has figured out that an average customer will spend $12,500 on bike products and services over his or her lifetime. Thus, Zane's philosophy is to go far beyond expectations to create customers for life.
Some of his offers are pretty extreme:
Most business owners feel it's mission accomplished when they make a sale or close a deal. Not so for Costco member Christ Zane, owner of Zane's Cycles in Branford, Connecticut.
"At Zane's, we've failed if all we've done is complete a transaction with a customer," he writes in Reinventing the Wheel: The Science of Creating Lifetime Customers (BenBella Books, 2011; www.chriszane.com). That's because success lies not in a single sale, but in establishing a connection with a customer that can last a lifetime.
It sounds odd to pooh-pooh a sale, but here's why: Zane, who has run his bike shop since 1980, has figured out that an average customer will spend $12,500 on bike products and services over his or her lifetime. Thus, Zane's philosophy is to go far beyond expectations to create customers for life.
Some of his offers are pretty extreme:
- A lifetime service guarantee for every bike, covering parts, labour, and even tune-ups
- Flat-tire insurance -- for a one-time fee, Zane's fixes flats forever.
- A trade-in program for kids' bikes, lasting 10 years (or more)
These measures, Zane concedes, don't come free. But in terms of their long-term payoff, they add up to smart business expenses.
Is it working? Zane's Cycles is experiencing annual sales growth of 23 per cent, with sales of $15 million from retail and corporate customers.
For any business, Zane says, strong connections with customers are at the heart of long-term success. Of course, the specific ways of making those connections change from business to business.
He says, "No matter what kind of business you run, you should be in the relationship-building business, because that is how you will find the greatest success."
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