Digital Customer Success

11The Ability to Be More Human

Digital CS Is About Building Customer Loyalty

Ultimately, Customer Success is about building loyalty among your customer. As Nick wrote in the book Customer Success, the general consensus is that there are two types of customer loyalty: attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty, also known as emotional loyalty and intellectual loyalty. The premise is that there are customers who are loyal because they have to be—because your product is the only game in town, far less expensive, or much more convenient—and there are customers who are loyal because they love your brand and your product(s).¹

As a SaaS vendor, attitudinal loyalty is preferable for a variety of reasons. Among other things, attitudinally loyal customers are often willing to pay a higher price, are less vulnerable to competition, and are more likely to advocate for your brand. They are also more likely to remain your customers and buy more stuff from you. Unfortunately, attitudinal loyalty is also much harder to establish and sustain because it's expensive. It's expensive to build products that customers really love instead of products they merely own. It's expensive to create an experience that continually delights instead of an experience that simply tries not to annoy.

But if, as Summer suggested, attitudinal loyalty can be created and sustained by delivering not just the occasional Big Moment of surprise and delight but by continually delivering small, pleasant experiences to customers ...