If you want to build customer loyalty, start by making a decision: Are you willing to put the customer at the center of everything you do: at the center of your company or department, your daily routines, the way you hire, the way you design your webforms?

Don’t say “yes” too automatically. Putting the customer at the center is a more complicated, subtle, and arduous adventure than it sounds. But it’s worth it: At every great company I consult for, purchase from, or use as a case study in my books and keynote speaking, somebody, or some somebodies, have made this decision.

Full Article » Building Customer Loyalty the Hard (And Only) Way