How to build trust

Both selling and infl uencing suffer from the similar misconception that success requires you to aggressively or cleverly push a product or idea. This misunderstanding leads to inappropriate behaviors. For example, people can become evasive, “pushy,” and aggressive, or overly talkative and agreeable. Selling and infl uencing depends on getting behavior right, by moderating openness and assertiveness with warmth and competence. Combined with a great product or brand, this goes a long way to building customer loyalty. The idea Harley-Davidson overcame a turbulent past by building customer loyalty—one of its most enduring assets. It was one of America’s foremost motorbike manufacturers but, by the 1980s, sales fell dramatically following tough competition from affordable, highquality Japanese machines. Harley-Davidson improved quality using the production techniques of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. The next challenge was to win back, and maintain, market share (it now enjoys a customer loyalty rate of 90 percent). Knowledge of customers’ needs and appealing to customers’ emotions helped Harley-Davidson to build trust and bond with customers. Their managers meet customers regularly at rallies, where new models are demonstrated. Advertising reinforces the brand image, to promote customer loyalty. The Harley Owner’s Group (HOG) is a membership club that entrenches customer loyalty, with two-thirds of customers renewing membership. 1 BUILDING CUSTOMER TRUST AND LOYALTY 111175-100 GI Business.indd 3 1/5/09 10:38:10 4 • 100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS Signifi cantly, Harley-Davidson ensures customers receive benefi ts they value. The result is that customers trust Harley-Davidson; this trust is used to develop stronger bonds and greater profi ts in a virtuous circle. Rich Teerlink, former chair, commented, “perhaps the most signifi cant program was—and continues to be—the Harley Owner’s Group (HOG) . . . Dealers regained confi dence that Harley could and would be a dependable partner . . . [And] capturing the ideas of our people—all the people at Harley—was critical to our future success.”