What a great article. It dismisses several of the myths where people think that customer satisfaction and service is the only basis on which customer's make decisions.

The most important part of the article is this:

Customers whose interactions with a company are personalized tend to be more loyal, and hence more profitable. But personalization means more than sending an otherwise mass e-mail with a customer's name pasted at the top. It means asking for and then honoring a customer's particular preferences about contact and offers, said Ragsdale.

Think about this for a second and how it relates to the customers you serve.

What can you do to personalize the relationship they have with you?

There are three key things to consider:

1) People are more forgiving when they have skin in the game. If you take the time to cultivate a relationship where the customer owns part of it you can us that as leverage.

2) Gentle communication. This cannot be stressed enough. Most groups force communication down the throats of their customers. With gentle communication you allow people to choose what is useful for them. This is related to the channels the article addresses, but goes a step further.

3) Reward. Reward. Reward. Whether your customers expect it or not offer rewards for their business. This isn't simple appreciation, but can offer new revenue streams for your organization.

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