Devoted to customer service and the principles of exceptional customer services

Building customer relationships is a business skill I learned from working at Nordstrom.  As a sales associate, we were taught that the key to making money was to bond with customers and maintain a relationship with them by staying in touch and informing them of sales and new products.  The process is actually no different from any other type of relationship, whether it be a friendship or romantic relationship.   In fact, it was not uncommon for a customer to become a friend.  Gary Bourgeault says in Embracing Lifetime Customer Value, "We must look at the customer as one that will be in business with us throughout their entire life."

At the time of hire with Nordstrom, I was given what they call a "personal book", which was a little blue binder that served as a notebook and address book.  It kept our customers information - favorite styles, sizes, birthdays, etc.  Nordstrom even provided birthday and thank you cards to send to customers.  Whenever any major sales came up, we were required to call at least fifty or so customers.  How many department stores, or major corporations for that matter, do you know of that provide this personal touch?

The personal book was a very useful tool and instilled in me the importance of building and maintaining customer relationships.  Nordstrom recently upgraded their computer system, so now the personal book has gone digital, which has made it faster to service the customer and access customer information.  Either way, utilizing some type of customer database and adding that personal touch is the difference between good companies and great companies.