Minnesota Institute of Public Health

Call them what you want – customers, clients, constituents, -- you need them to give meaning purpose and success to your organization. There’s data to suggest it’s a lot easier to keep satisfied customers than to go out and secure new ones. Customer Loyalty is a huge issue.

I believe customer service needs to be more of a companywide attitude than a department. I recall a colleague with a wonderful framed phrase on her desk that said,  “The customer isn’t an interruption to our work, he/she is the REASON for our work!”.  It’s also my belief that the organization who comes closest to meeting the customers’ needs on a consistent basis, is the most successful.

Our world of nonprofit mission-driven service compels us to remind ourselves daily that without external customers –- be they paying customers or end-user customers – we don’t have much of anything. In the commercial world, there are many borrowable examples of good customer loyalty. If I buy a Bose sound system and something goes wrong with it, I might say “I must’ve gotten a bad one; I’ll take it back and they’ll fix it for me” – and they will, because they’re Bose. If, however, I bought an off-brand sound system and something goes wrong, my first inclination is to say, “I’ll never buy THAT brand again!”. My loyalty has been earned; successful enterprises build loyalty by quality products and services, and standing behind them.

Then there’s product transfer of loyalty: I might by a Honda lawn mower, because their cars run so doggone well.

At MIPH, we were approached a few years ago by schools who had endured the horrific school shootings we all dread. They came to us as said “You’ve helped us with prevention for 30 years. Can you help us with THIS?” We were so very honored; that was how our Avert Center for Safer Schools was born.

As part of a Goals Attainment effort here, staff are diligently working on ways to measure, gauge and analyze customer loyalty experiences. Beyond extended contracts and repeat participation by consumers, we are engaged in really understanding how our constituents stay loyal to us, and what we can do to keep that happening.

What are your best examples of customer loyalty?
How does YOUR organization measure and assess customer loyalty?
How satisfied are you with products and services of MIPH?