How to Switch from Client Satisfaction to Client Loyalty? Yannick Poubanne Is it sufficient to satisfy clients in order to gain their loyalty? The commonsense answer to this question has generally been yes. But, are the clients strongly declaring their satisfaction always the ones visiting the practice more often? Were you not surprised one day to find out that the one spending the most with you was almost unknown to you? Moreover, the one recommending your practice so strongly may also be the same one who complains so often and so loudly. The relationship �satisfaction implies loyalty� seems to suffer from many exceptions or inconsistencies. To explain how to switch from client satisfaction to client loyalty, we will use the most recent findings of consumer behavior science, especially in the service area, rich in applications for veterinarians. 1. Status Today the answer is clear. In all areas, it appears that 60% to 80% of clients that switched their supplier, would had declared just before leaving that they were very satisfied! (Reichheld 1996) That author even mentions the �satisfaction trap� which big companies fall into. So what is happening? Actually, satisfaction is necessary but not sufficient for loyalty, and the explanation of this phenomenon lies in understanding the nature of loyalty and the conditions that make up the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. 2. Nature of loyalty When you ask different veterinarians to define a loyal client, you get various answers such as �the one always coming back�, �the one preferring us�, �the one talking positively about us�, �the one coming often�, �the one spending a lot�, �the one waiting for us when we are absent�, �the one having come for ages�, �the one liking us.� Obviously, because notions of frequencies, preferences, and attachments are already included, there is some truth in all of these statements. But, it also is revealing that there isn�t a consensus. By nature, loyalty has two facets: a behavioral one and an attitudinal one. First, a loyal client behaves positively towards the practice, generating frequent visits and substantial spending (relative to his needs). Second, a loyal client expresses a positive attitude towards the practice, i.e., favorable opinions if surveyed and positive word-of-mouth. Consequently, we will say that a client is loyal when both facets positively co-exist. We are mistaken when we neglect one of them and this is the reason why we misunderstand the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. 3. Nature of satisfaction Client satisfaction results from a gap between a client�s expectancies and the perceived performance of the supplier. Satisfaction then increases when the supplier improves or when the client�s level of expectancies is low. However, when the supplier improves, the client�s expectancies automatically increase. Consequently, the more the veterinarian improves, the more he will have to improve!
By nature, the client�s global satisfaction regarding a service lies on four elements of service (Llossa-Stylios 1996):
A few of these elements are also linked to client loyalty as described below. 4. Conditions of existence of the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty 4.1. Client satisfaction without client loyalty In the following cases, client satisfaction is not followed by client loyalty because either the link cannot be observed, either the link cannot exist, or the link is multiple.
4.2. Client satisfaction with loyalty
references 1. Jones T.O. and Sasser W.E. Jr (1995), Why Satisfied Customers Defect ?, Harvard business review, 73, 6, 88-99. 2. Llosa-Stylios S.(1996), Contribution � l��tude de la satisfaction dans les services, Th�se de Doctorat �s-sciences de Gestion, IAE Aix-en-Provence. 3. McAlistair L. (1982), A dynamic Attribute Satiation Model of Variety-Seeking Behavior, Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 141-150. 4. Reichheld F. (1996), The Loyalty Effect, Harvard Business Scholl Press. 5. Riley and al. (1997), The variability of Attitudinal Repeat Rates, International of Research in Marketing, 14, 5, 437-450.
![]()
|
![]() |
||||||||||||||||
WSAVA Contact Information Copyright WSAVA |