Develop Commitment to Drive Results

How committed are your customers to the success of your organization? They’re probably not as committed as you’d like—but what if you could change that? And what if you defined a customer as “anyone whose actions affect your results”? This is Steve Yastrow’s definition of a customer, and he’s on a mission to drive organizational results through higher levels of commitment.

In this brief video, I chat with Steve—non-stop idea generator, business advisor and best-selling sales author—from Yastrow and Company about how to create committed customers. Steve recently worked with both of my Vistage groups, dropping knowledge bombs left and right. After you’ve tuned into my conversation with him, I encourage you to learn more about and buy any (or all) of Steve’s three books, Ditch the Pitch, We: The Ideal Customer Relationship, and Brand Harmony.

Let me know in the comments whether your customers are brand ambassadors, and, if they are, how you’ve achieved that result. As Steve puts it, “Do you believe that you brand your customers or do they brand you?” How you answer that question is the difference between having raving fans and customers that view you as merely incidental to their own story.

TRANSCRIPT

Chad Harvey (00:05): Chad Harvey here with Steve Yastrow from Yastrow & Company. Steve, we just finished up an excellent three-and-a-half-hour workshop with you on marketing, branding, the customer experience. What is one thing you’d like folks to know about how companies can drive results?

Steve Yastrow (00:19): It’s so interesting. When I look at companies, Chad, there are lots of ways you can improve your results. You can cut your costs. You can improve your operations. And all that counts, but what I see as the most powerful way for most companies to improve their results is to just develop the commitment to their customers. When customers are committed to you, they pay more, they come back more, they tell people what great you are. So customer commitment is one of the best ways to drive your results, improving that. And improve your customer commitment, you got to have your employees committed if they want to give your customers a fabulous experience.

Chad Harvey (00:48): So not just brand ambassadors, but raving fans.

Steve Yastrow (00:51): You got it.

Chad Harvey (00:51): I love it. Thank you so much.

Steve Yastrow (00:53): Thanks, Chad.