Client Login

You Earned My Loyalty. I’m Sticking with DYMO.

by john k. grace

DYMO, one of the leaders in providing label printers, just treated me the right way, and retained my loyalty at a critical moment. I had recently upgraded to a new operating system for my Mac. As a result, my computer couldn’t communicate with my label printer. After trying several options, I finally called DYMO customer service, and they used that moment to secure my loyalty for a long time to come. When they realized that my label printer wasn’t compatible with my new OS, they generously said they would replace my printer with a new one… at no cost to me.

Today, DYMO, founded in 1958 as an embossing company, is a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid. Boy am I glad marketers are running DYMO. While tight financial management would have the company asking me for money today, they would have been short-sighted and missed my longer term customer value. But instead of using a transactional moment to squeeze my pocket, they accomplished what they intended. By treating me fairly, they earned several things:

  • My continued purchasing of labels and printing materials (years of refills)
  • My continued use of their products
  • My endorsement of the way they treat customers
  • My communicating with my friends about their company and products (e.g., this blog).

As a result, I didn’t need to search for a printer from a competitor. In fact, I’m not sure who their competitors are… and I didn’t need to find out.

Of course this isn’t a new tactic at all. How many razor companies have given away free razors to keep consumers buying their blades? Think about coffee pods or ink cartridges. Long term customer retention is where the value resides.

But the clincher was the positive way in which DYMO customer service treated me. They listened, diagnosed the problem, and then automatically did the right thing. I was ready for a confrontation, and what I got was a partner who helped me solve my problem.

Clearly, customer service has become a brand-defining touch point. Because we increasingly need customer service to solve both simple and complex problems that come up… we actually form a strong opinion about a brand by how we are treated during the service engagement.

So DYMO used this critical touch point to retain and strengthen our relationship. This will bring them long-term value, and that is a far less expensive way to secure revenue than acquiring new customers.

DYMO… you still have me as a loyal customer. Keep it up.