It”™s a new economy and “crazy” is the new normal. The rules have changed. Your business must, too.
So advised Cindy Solomon, an internationally recognized speaker, consultant and executive coach, in a presentation to businesswomen ”“ and a few men ”“ at Key Bank”™s 2010 Key4Women forum Sept. 29 at Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill in Tarrytown.
“Our behaviors as consumers have changed. Our behaviors as businesses have to change.”
Customers are more demanding, Solomon said, especially in the digital age where anything is accessible 24/7. She discussed the difference between customer satisfaction ”“ no longer good enough ”“ and customer loyalty.
“Satisfaction doesn”™t keep people”™s money coming to you ”¦ satisfaction does not equal loyalty.”
Solomon, president of Solomon & Associates Inc. in San Francisco, was in Westchester as part of a national tour to promote her latest book, “The Rules of Woo: An Entrepreneur”™s Guide to Capturing the Hearts and Minds of Today”™s Customers.”
She offered tips and strategies for business owners to attract and retain customers in a post-recession, ultra-competitive environment.
“In order for us to take advantage of this, in order for us to come out of whatever this craziness is that we”™re calling a recession, in order for us to create unbelievable profitability, we have to focus on being a beginner again so we can adapt our businesses to how our customers are changing.”
Key Bank”™s Key4Women forums are designed to educate and empower women in business. The forums are part of the bank”™s Key4Women, a program to help women-owned businesses succeed through access to capital, education and networking.
Solomon noted that Key Bank has already loaned some $3 billion to women-owned businesses and has committed to lend an additional $3 billion before 2012.
“That”™s just crazy,” she said. “I love you for it, but you”™re crazy people. There is no other bank out there doing it.”
