Understanding Expectations of Invested Customers

The new breed of “invested” customer has higher expectations but increased loyalty.

November 19, 2014

NEW YORK – In the world of customer service, a good memory can go a long way. According to an article in The Customer Edge, we have entered the world of the engaged, or “invested,” customer. These are the people who like companies to be proactive about customer service, want companies to bend over backward to accommodate them, including alerting them of deals and offering assistance before they even ask.

While the article focused on the hospitality industry and hotels in particular, there is no question that the best practices for serving that audience will carry over to other consumer groups. Customers who are loyal to a brand or location, in turn want to feel that they are more than just another face to the merchant they’re frequenting.

A deeper dive into the data presented by Customer Edge indicates that “invested” consumers are more likely to base their loyalty on shared values and offers or discounts, and that they make more of an effort than the average customer to communicate positive feelings about the company’s products and services online through social media channels. Interestingly, income, gender and education breakdowns had no bearing on these types of customers; they appeared across all demographic categories.

The article refers to the book, Emotional Value: Creating Strong Bonds with your Customers, whose co-authors Janelle Barlow and Dianna Maul stress empathizing and really listening to customers, not only to find out what they’re thinking but also to find out how to maximize small changes to customer communication and service policies across the board.

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