The Tribune

By D'ARCY RAHMING

IF YOU want to build brand loyalty, one of the best ways is an event filled with pomp and circumstance. About 27 years ago, I completed my Electrical Engineering degree at Northwestern University. The degree requirements were really tough. I mean, there were many times when I was almost certain I would fail out of school. There were some concepts I could just not wrap my head around. My motto at the time of graduation was: "Happiness is my university in a rear view mirror."

It took many years for those scars to heal, but heal they did, so much so that I was proud to recommend my son to apply to my Alma Mater. However, when he told me he wanted to be an engineer I tried to discourage him from such a severe discipline to save him some pain. But, of course, he completely ignored me. Anyway, four years later my son graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Besides being the proud father, I got to be included in a ceremony called the Order of the Engineer.

This ceremony played completely to my emotional needs. They gave me a ring, took pictures, had me read an oath. The Dean called my name along with my son's. You would have thought I just graduated. So, a few days later, I found myself creating an Alumni club, spending hundreds of dollars on university t-shirts, sweatshirts and even a notebook with the university logo. All things Northwestern. I even saw one of my professors, who had given me a hard time 27 years ago, and didn't feel like drop kicking him. So what's the moral of this story? If you can create an exclusive event that honours your customers or clients, you will win big.

Here's a practical way to implement this strategy. Ask your next 10 regular customers how long they have been doing business with you or, if you are more organised and keep records of this type of thing, go and look it up. After this research you then plan an unexpected gift for those customers that have been with you the longest. The gift doesn't have to be expensive, it could be as simple as a pen that you don't give to anyone else or even a loyalty discount.

The key is that they deserve it for their time as your customer, and the gift is given exclusively to the few that meet your criteria. The more pomp and circumstance around the event, the better. Take pictures, give them something tangible, make them feel like they're the King or Queen of the world. Post these pictures on your Facebook page, near your checkout counters and even do a PR release in the newspapers. They will remember it and be with you a long time. Other customers will be encouraged to emulate their behaviour.

NB: D'Arcy Rahming holds a Masters of Management from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, retail, the health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. To receive his marketing newsletter FREE go to http://DArcyRahming.com or contact him directly at darcyrahmingsr@gmail.com