The $10,000 Customer

Years ago, when I was with Pizza Hut, someone in the marketing group calculated that a loyal customer purchases over $10,000 worth of pizza during his/her lifetime. At that time pizzas were selling for about $10 so, that’s about 1,000 visits or roughly one visit per week for 20 years. We called these folks “heavy users”.

Inspire People to Become a Loyal Customer

If you own a retail business and a single transaction is worth $x, what’s the value of a customer who comes in 1,000 times? Do you truly understand who your most loyal customers are and why they choose to do business with you? Is your marketing message focused on attracting these customers? Do your employees treat everyone like a $10 customer or a $10,000 customer? How many customers who walk through the door each week are first time customers? Do you know why they walked through your door?

I’d like to share two great service experiences that I had last week while I was in Calgary, Alberta. I was there for my daughter’s wedding and stopped in at the Enoteca Liquor Store on MacLeod Trail SE to buy a cork screw.

I was greeted by Garry (who I thought was the owner) and told him that I was from Chicago and in town for the wedding. I
mentioned that I had purchased some wine earlier (different store) and had forgotten to purchase a corkscrew. While he was ringing up my $5.00 purchase, I commented that I didn’t recognize a single wine label and that no wine was less
than $20. “Well,” said Garry, “we made a conscious decision to bring in wines from around the world that you won’t find anywhere else. There’s no way we can compete on price against the giant liquor stores.” He showed me some examples and then excused himself to check some inventory. He piqued my interest and I selected a Bordeaux wine. At the check-out he complemented me on my selection then added “that’s a good wine but let me recommend a great wine that’s also about $2 less expensive.” Wow!

Then, I went next door to Zigarren to purchase a few Cuban cigars. I was greeted by Danny (who, once again, I thought was the owner). I told him that I was from Chicago. “Well,” said Danny, “you should be prepared for some sticker shock. Alberta has the highest cigar tax in Canada, about $6 each. If you tell me what cigars that you currently smoke, I can help you find a comparable Cuban cigar.” After deciding on the Montecristo #4 Danny insisted on checking each one to ensure that they were rolled properly. “The Cubans tend to roll cigars too tightly which affects how they draw”, he explained. After rejecting 3 of the cigars he was satisfied. Wow!

Are your customer interactions worth sharing?

Danny and Garry get it. To them I was a $10,000 customer, not a $10 customer. I’ve already told these two stories to several friends and now I’m blogging about the experience. I hope that Garry and Danny have inspired you to treat everyone who walks through your door as a potential $10,000 customer.