Last week I attended the Dave Matthews Band concert at DTE Energy Music Theater. Now, I’ve been to more than a handful of DMB shows before, but this one was special. This time changed my entire perception of the concert experience. And what it means to be a loyal customer.
I’ve been a member of the Warehouse for about six years. There aren’t many customer loyalty programs or memberships I’m willing to pay for on a consistent basis, but when I go to at least one show per year and can get guaranteed ticket and parking via pre-order with preferred seating for any show on the tour, to me, that’s worth the small annual membership fee. As someone who loves to sit on the lawn at concerts, it’s nice to know my friends and I can walk in 10 minutes before a general admission show starts and still have a fantastic lawn spot. A discount on merchandise and pre-order on new albums doesn’t hurt, either.
At last week’s show, I walked in with the intention of grabbing my wristband and heading to the reserved spot on the lawn, when a Warehouse association representative offered my group a free upgrade to front row center seats, no strings attached. I was raised to be skeptical of things that seem too good to be true, but this offer was the real deal. We were escorted to the front, and that was it. We watched the show from within Dave’s sweat drip range. When you love a band, things like that are life-changing.
Though it had never happened to me before, the Warehouse offers upgrades, backstage passes and special things for its members all the time. They know this group of people love the band and these extraordinary experiences are often dreams come true. Based on the experience, I’ll probably pay for membership the rest of my life. One small dip in the pocketbook of the band, and they’ve made me a lifelong customer and evangelist. Piece of cake.
But it makes me wonder, why don’t more companies take the opportunity to give their loyal, paying customers and evangelists something special? I’ve written about giving customers a little something extra before, but it still seems the good examples are few and far between. A few questions companies should be asking:
- If your customers pay to be part of a special association, what are you doing to make sure they come back for renewal?
- If you offer a customer loyalty program, do you have a reasonable frequency for offering the rewards?
- Are you making it easy for your customers to share their good experiences, forward information and specials to friends and bring in new customers for you?
- Are you paying attention to customers active on social media singing your brand’s praises? And more importantly, have you reached out to them?
Bringing customers back for repeat business isn’t difficult. People want to be recognized, people want to feel special and people want to feel like someday they might be on the receiving end of an upgrade or perk. Build a perk program (even if it’s a small one) into your customer service plan. It’s worth it.
Photo: Taken with Canon PowerShot SD 1400 IS. Exposure 1/50 sec. Aperture f/4.5. Focal length 13mm. ISO Speed 400.
And just for fun…a few more of my favorite photos I snapped during the show.
