Customers are the lifeblood of any business. No matter how many high-technology gadgets and approaches are used or how much planning is invested in the strategy, all of these tactics will be for naught if the business is not able to generate, and more importantly, maintain a loyal customer following.
Many studies have shown the huge impact of a loyal customer base on the sustainability of a business because, in reality, it is more difficult and much costlier to acquire a new following than to increase and develop the value of existing customers.
This concept is fully grasped by Ammar Jali, a successful franchise owner of Domino’s Pizza, who taught all his staff the value of every single customer who walks into their restaurant.
“Competition is growing every day, and therefore you need to stay focused on how you retain your loyal customers and acquire new ones,” Jali shared. “So, I tell my team that if we won’t take care of our customers then someone else will. Eventually, that’s how you go out of business, so never lose a customer,” he added.
Jali’s success in business can be attributed to a lot of factors including passion, dedication, drive to create an outstanding work culture and many others but he admitted that he is making money because of his focus and effort in ensuring customer satisfaction and expanding a loyal customer base.
“Repeat or loyal customers keep you in business,” Jali shared. “Customer perception of our stores and customer experience during their visit is very important to me.”
Jali’s understanding that his business is essentially generating earnings from repeat customers is on point. According to a BIA/ Kelsey/ Manta survey that was conducted recently, the majority (61%) of small business owners are getting their annual revenues not from new customers but from repeat customers.
Jali is able to sustain and develop a loyal following to his pizza joint by creating a culture among his staff that will provide the best experience for the customers. Jali admitted that he consistently checks on every detail of his restaurant from the point of view of his customers — how clean the establishment is, the restrooms, windows, counters, ceiling tiles, and even how the staff members conduct themselves.
“I stand in the lobby of my stores and see everything from the eyes of a customer and what bothers me surely bothers our customers,” Jali said.
The successful entrepreneur also stresses that: “Customer service is not a department, it’s an attitude!”
