Happy Customers = More Money

There seems to be a trend this week for self-evident headlines.

I’m reminded of the UK headline and subhead: “Young Men Like Video Games. In other news, sky blue, ocean wet.”

Nonetheless, the importance of the fact that companies with greater customer satisfaction notch better financial results cannot be understated.

Companies make money by making customers happy. Unless you live in a Communist state, have an unbreakable monopoly, or put guns to their heads, customers don’t have to give you their money.

I strongly recommend that folks pick up a copy of “Return on Customer” by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers of “One to One Marketing” fame. In it, Peppers and Rogers talk about how the best way to make money is to figure out how to maximize the lifetime value of your customer base, on a customer-by-customer basis.