The Internet Impact on Customer Loyalty.

This blog is a continuation of the previous blog that look at the traditional measures of customer loyalty. Again the Customer Institute regrets the inability to identify the author of the following information.

The Internet is has changed many of the basic concepts of customer loyalty. The following list represents a number of the ways in which customer loyalty may appear from an Internet perspective.
1.       A loyal customer will still patronize your business but will know the alternatives better.
2.       A loyal customer will still provide recommendation but is more likely to be on a reputation-based website.
3.       The premium that a loyal customer is willing to pay is getting smaller. This becomes more obvious this product or services become more commoditized.
4.       There's much less face-to-face communication.
5.       The customer is less connected with the company and hence the personal bonds between customers and company personnel are becoming a thing of the past.
6.       The customer is easier to make the relationship since the transactions are less personal.
7.       Customers are willing to become part of the community to be willing to take this association to high levels of commitment such as the Apple cult and other similar communities.
8.       Customer reviews and testimonials are becoming more important.
9.       A new kind of customer has emerged. That customer may be a brand evangelist or happy wanderer with no loyalty.

The bottom line is that the Internet has become the great equalizer in the in the business community. There is no difference in the virtual real estate of a small start-up company with virtual real estate of established industry giant.  On the Internet these two very different kinds of companies can appear equal.  The companies of today and tomorrow must manage their websites will is in terms of appearance and in real time.