The means by which most of us measure customer loyalty is a bit flawed.  Retention is up, attrition is down, and we think all is well.

With sales, it’s easier to boil performance & success down to a number.  Either you closed the sale, or you didn’t.  New revenue is booked and realized, or it’s not.

With retention, it’s a little fuzzier, because not every customer is alike.  Yes, you may have retained 95% of customers last month.  But how many of those customers are raving fans?  How many are frustrated and just sitting out the rest of their contract?

Those are very different customers. One is willing to sing your praises to other current & prospective customers – helping sales and solidifying retention (and possibly success) with some of your other customers.

The less-satisfied customer, unfortunately, may be doing the opposite.  Their frustration is simmering, and they’re telling others about it.  They’re sharing with their colleagues, with peers and other customers via their social channels, and literally closing the door on future revenue opportunities – possibly without you knowing about it.

Our spreadsheets tell us these two customers are the same.  But they clearly are not.

How are you identifying these two customers in your business?  And how are you using that insight to address and improve both the less-satisfied customers, as well as the potential weak points in the product or service itself?

Here are a few links I thought particularly worth a quick read the day after:

Hulu:  See every ad from the Super Bowl again here

USA Today: Which ads scored best with viewers?  Check out the AdMeter

AdWeek: Four reasons why Super Bowl ads are still among advertising’s best bets

AdRants: Summarizing several roundups, there’s no clear winner in this year’s Super Bowl ads

BrandBowl:  How the Twittersphere ranked the advertisers

AdWeek: Super Bowl Ratings & 30-Second Ad Costs since 1969

SearchEngineLand: Great analysis of Google’s ad strategy, reactions, comparisons to Bing, etc.

CNBC: Super Bowl ads the NFL didn’t want you to see

Social Media Journal:  “Advertisers, you really missed the mark this year”

Was it me, or were there very few ads in last night's Super Bowl with a call to action?  There were some memorable images and concepts, as always, but in general there was very little effort placed on driving the viewer to a next step, to a Web site or social media presence where the experience and engagement could continue, where identification, registration and/or sales could happen.

Yes, there were a few URLs at the bottom of ads at the end.  But most appeared to be placed as an afterthought, or at least as a mere boilerplate with very little reason for viewers to go there.

You spend three million dollars on 30 seconds of air time (let alone the cost of creative and all the internal soft costs associated with executing the campaign), and you end up with a nice ad, some nice gameday buzz on Twitter, then what?  When the advertising world is buzzing about which ads were the most creative, what's happening to your brand?  What's happening to sales?

Driving ROI from that investment has very little to do with what the Madison Avenue elite think on Monday.  Is't about what Main Street does on Monday and beyond.  That's where the real value and ROI is created.

Pepsi was absent during the game last night, of course, because they've put that money into a massive social media effort instead. 

Is this the consumer brand equivivalent of having the courage to forego exhibiting at your industry's big trade show?  At the show, a few people may wonder why you aren't there, and you do miss out on grabbing the spotlight (briefly) when everyone's looking in the same place.  But you smartly save your money and divert it to quieter but more effective marketing.  Long-term, are your sales (and strength of your business) better as a result?

Everything had a story.  Every person, every product, every sales opportunity, everything.  Where it came from, how it evolved, why it exists and where it’s headed. 

As a business, you need to know your story.  Where you came from, why you exist, what benefit you provide.  And before you can effectively market and sell your product or service, you need to know that story. 

But before you can do that, you need to know your customer’s unique story.  Not just the story they’re telling the world, but the story behind why they might need you.  What got them to where they are today, what challenge or need or pain has that created, and where are they headed?

Then, your story becomes their story.  You create and communicate a story that takes your prospect from present to future, by telling a story of how wonderful the future will be with your product or service as the enabler of that future.

Stories aren’t about features, or new releases, or tactics.  Your story needs to take into account the past and present, then predict the future.  If done right, your prospects will directly connect with and start to believe that story.  Now you’ve created value.  And it’ll be hard to say no to a good story like that.

I believe you treat everyone with respect.  You give everyone the time of day.  You don’t just intentionally blow people off.

That doesn't mean you take meetings everytime someone wants to "pick your brain", and it doesn't mean you necessarily treat everyone you meet the same (same time, same depth, same attention).  It's just important to remember that we live in a small world, roles change constantly, and your good will today will pay dividends - directly or indirectly - down the road.

Case in point:

Twelve years ago I met John Cook for the first time.  He doesn't remember, but I do.  He was a technology reporter for the Bellevue Journal-American, a small suburban newspaper with a limited circulation.  He gave a talk at a local PR firm about working with the media.  I thought he was a small-timer. 

Thank goodness, despite my lack of maturity and perspective, I didn't share that sentiment with him or anyone else at the time.  Today, John is one of the most influential technology reporters in the Pacific Northwest.  We all start somewhere.

Today's intern could be an influential peer, or even manage your division, in a few years.  She could start her own company and become an important, revenue-generating partner to your business.

The sales rep you blew off at the last trade show?  You might have something you want to sell him in your next job.  And the reporter for that third-tier trade publication may get a job at Business Week down the road.

You never know.  Why risk those opportunities in the future by blowing them off today?

I’m hearing more and more people express pride over the fact that they no longer carry business cards, and consider the rest of us archaic for doing so.  That feels a little short-sighted to me.

Would the world be more efficient if business cards no longer existed?  I doubt it.  I still consider business cards an important part of my networking and follow-up process.

As a business card recipient, that little piece of thin cardboard is a reminder that I met you, a reminder to follow-up, and the fastest way possible to – in the moment when we’ve met, wherever that context may be – get your contact information for future follow-up.  Sure, it might be nicer to just “bump” your iPhones and transfer the contact information.  But then it’s too easy to forget to follow-up, forget that article I promised to send to you, etc.

In almost every context I can think of where I’ve met a new person, the last thing I want to do at that point is bury my nose in my laptop or smartphone and type someone’s complete contact information, plus any next steps or to-do’s based on that conversation.  I can take care of that later, just grab a card and continue focusing on the individual, not their digits.

As a business card distributor, most of the world still asks for them.  Yes, at technology events they might be waning in volume & impact.  A little.  But most of the rest of the world wants a card.  If you don’t have one to give them, you’re missing out on any number of opportunities to network, get business or otherwise share mutually-beneficial information with that person – both now and down the road.

Do you still use business cards?  Do you have an effective process for not only collecting and distributing them, but also processing them (the information and next steps) after you receive them?

Let’s say you’re in charge of a meeting space.  It could be at a hotel, a convention center, a sporting venue, whatever.  How do you keep that space full of big groups & happy customers throughout the year?  Here are some effective best practices used by successful hotel and meeting space marketers.

Past Customers:  It’s surprising how often past customers are left alone, or only approached infrequently with a new sales pitch.  If your past customers enjoyed their last event or meeting with you, stay in touch.  Don’t just pitch them a new sales offer or deal every time you call or email, either.  Send them ideas to improve their events, share articles of event management best practices, and otherwise present yourself not just as a venue, but as a true partner and value-added source of insight and information.  And truly, just by staying in more frequent touch with those past customers you’ll see more returns and repeat bookings.

Ideal Customer Profiles:  Consider your unique venue.  What kind of organizations or events do you attract?  Can you attract?  Get to know that customer profile better than you do today.  When they hold events, why?  What are their objectives?  What are they trying to accomplish, for which the venue and/or event is just a means to an ends?  Help your customers find the shortest line between a partnership with your venue and their ultimate business objectives, and you’ve established even more value.

How Are You Different?:  What is your unique value proposition?  How are you different than other potential meeting spaces?  How does this value proposition map directly to the ideal customer profiles mentioned earlier?  Once you’ve identified your unique value (and selling) proposition, look through your current sales & marketing materials and ensure that value is represented.

Drip Marketing:  Give your prospects information, news, articles and other value-added content they can use.  Whether or not they immediately book with you, build value as a partner who knows how to put on a successful event.  Be a thought leader and educator for your prospects and past customers.  Publish via a newsletter, your blog, Twitter feed. 

The Social Media Two-Way Street:  Use social media channels to find prospective event manager clients.  Search for event managers on Twitter and LinkedIn.  Join event management groups and discussion boards, and participate with value-added content and responses based on your experience.  Publish updates on your venue through these channels, but more often than not participate and share as a peer.  You’ll gain valuable credibility and trust, which will help those prospects lean your directly when they’re ready to buy.

Testimonials:  Ensure every happy customer is recorded in a variety of formats (written word, audio, video, etc.) with their success story.  Get them on record talking about how great the venue was, how great the service was, how successful they were at achieving their event’s business objectives.  Let your customers sell for you.

Host a Networking Night:  Why not create an evening where event managers can get together, have a cocktail, share best practices, maybe even hear a speaker talk about how to put on a more successful event?  Make it 100% value-added for the event managers.  Just by hosting it in your facility (you can offer tours, and collect names/email addresses for follow-up), you’ll get great exposure to a very targeted audience.

Be Unexpected & Memorable:  What can you do uniquely and memorably for participants at each event to remember you, tell their friends, and beg to come back again?  Every venue has a set of low-cost but high perceived-value opportunities to make a big impression on event managers, executives and attendees.  Think about what this is for your venue, and test it. 

I was asked recently how to successfully sell value in a commodity business.  When your product or service is virtually identical to what is available elsewhere, how do you create differentiation, preference, value and market share acceleration?

It’s not easy, but there are ways.  Here are five to start:

Service:  How well you treat your customers can make a big difference, especially if you want to be a premium-priced commodity seller.  Customers who don’t value service will always buy on price, and if you want to be the low-cost leader, that’s fine too.  But if you want to sell value with a commodity, provide excellent, remarkable service at every level and every interaction with your customers and prospects.

Trust:  What’s your reputation?  What are you known for?  Do customers trust you, and why?  Know what your customers value, and establish a tight bond between those values and the trust you create and strengthen in the way you do business, every day.

The Little Things:  There are countless ways to do little, remarkable things for your customers.  Unexpected things that make you stand out, thoughtful gestures that show you’re different, and that you care.  Real estate agents who bring new buyers a pizza or sandwiches on moving day, that’s special.  Auto dealerships that offer free car wash service for life.  Things like that can be huge for differentiation and preference, not to mention word-of-mouth for your business to new prospective customers.

A Consultative Approach to Selling:  Are you just selling the commodity, or are you providing additional value in the sale?  Are you teaching customers more about the industry they work in, the environment in which they need that commodity.  Are you helping them be more successful in the process of buying?  Provide that kind of value-added service as part of the sale, and you’re creating immediate value & differentiation.

Results:  A commodity market doesn’t necessarily mean that every option is the same, and will deliver the same results.  How are you able to transcend what you’re selling, and deliver differentiation and value in how that commodity impacts your customers?  Is the end-result better through you?  How?  And how effectively can you communicate that results-based differentiation?  Let your happy customers tell that story for you.  Use their enthusiasm and success in the market to drive preference and value.