I'm on the List...

Yes, 2004 is drawing to a close, and with it comes the inevitable signs of the season. In particular, I'm talking about awards shows, and 'best of' lists.

One of the early lists that I just happened upon (while reading Brand Autopsy) is Brand Keys' Top Customer Loyalty Leaders. Just curious.. is your company on the list? Was it last year? Will it be next year?

Yesterday, I was giving a presentation for a client, when a participant asked if organizations were still looking for Loyalty from their employees (I guess customer loyalty goes without saying)? My response was that they are looking for a different kind of loyalty, one that resulted in the employee to 'investing' in the company, not just adding to the headcount.

When I saw the list this morning, one of the things I noticed was the correlation between customer loyalty and companies' with strong employee cultures. Companies like Google, Samsung, and Amazon.com. Employees in these companies truly live their brands. With respect to Mr. Moore of Brand Autopsy (ex-marketing at Starbucks) it was also telling to see how the mighty Starbucks fell from 6th to 29th. My guess the reason behind the drop is the fact that Barista's these days more likely to be 'kids looking for McJobs', as opposed to true coffee connoisseurs. If your employees don't love your organization, eventually it will start to show...

The point? Invest in your employee loyalty. Create an environment that attracts top talent. Their pride in the organization will translate into breakthrough Products and Services.

If you don't believe me.. believe AVIS. I'm willing to bet that they actually DO try harder - and it shows. They were #1 last year and #2 this year.

Heck.. you might as well try it..next year, you might be on the list too...