Sponsored By

Do your employees feel valued?

Whenever and wherever I've researched employee loyalty, feeling valued always comes out to be a key driver.

Simon Uwins, loyalty expert

January 15, 2015

2 Min Read
Supermarket News logo in a gray background | Supermarket News

I came across some Forrester research recently that highlighted how making customers feel valued is the key driver of customer loyalty.

It's certainly something I’ve always found. Humans have an exceptional ability to detect how someone feels towards them, and a trip to a supermarket (or indeed any retail store) gives customers ample opportunities to sense whether the company really values them. Loyal customers feel the company is on their side.

But it’s also true in the workplace. Whenever and wherever I’ve researched employee loyalty, feeling valued always comes out to be a key driver. For example, I was recently interviewing employees of a small retailer about their customers. I was struck by how committed they were, and as I probed, I heard many stories about how the company had gone out of its way to accommodate individual employee needs around education, childcare or other personal issues.

Of course, the two are connected. I remember some research I did in the U.S. into retail and service brands. I was trying to understand why customers were so clear which ones gave them good service and which ones didn’t. The answer was blindingly simple. As one respondent put it: “In these stores the employees enjoy working there, in those they don’'t.” As the old adage says, for “happy customers” you do indeed need “happy staff.” And happy employees feel valued.

All of this would only be of academic interest if all employees felt valued. But as survey after survey has shown, the vast majority of frontline workers in the U.S. (and indeed around the world) feel disengaged from the company they work for.

So if you want to earn the loyalty of your customers, first ask yourself a simple question: Do our employees feel valued?

Simon Uwins is a former CMO of fresh&easy and Tesco UK, and author of Creating Loyal Brands (2014). Find him online at www.simonuwins.com.

About the Author

Simon Uwins

loyalty expert

www.simonuwins.com

A visionary CMO, educator and loyalty expert, Simon has demonstrated the power of customer loyalty in creating long-term growth.

An ex-CMO of Tesco, he’s a pioneer of Clubcard, its renowned loyalty program, and served as a director of Dunnhumby, the customer science company that underpins it. He also built the retail brand Fresh & Easy from scratch here in the U.S.

A recognized thought leader, Simon has a popular blog, an award-winning Flipboard magazine, and is author of Creating Loyal Brands. He teaches a graduate course on branding at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, and provides consulting services around loyalty and retail.

With a master's degree from Oxford University, Simon grew up in London. Based now largely in Los Angeles, you’ll normally find Neil Young or Radiohead blaring when he’s behind the wheel.

Find him online at www.simonuwins.com.

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like