“Marketers must remember that they’re in the customer advocacy business, not the cost containment business. Forget that fact, and you’ve lost.” – Michael Krauss, Marion Consulting Partners. (Marketing News, March 1 2006).

When it comes down to it, even the best PR is an uphill battle if the core of your business is not customer-centric. Regardless of endless research that proves this point, companies continue to seem stupendously unaware that retaining clients is less expensive and has a far better return than recruiting them.

Take for example, my recent experience at a local kids’ gym. My young daughter attends, and we are about to finish our third 10-week session. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity at a silent auction fundraiser to bid on a $50 gift certificate to this gym. Assuming that we would continue our classes, I bid on the certificate and ended up the highest bidder at the end of the night.

When I presented the certificate to our teacher (who also is a co-owner), rather than cheerfully accept the certificate and be pleased that we would be signing up for a fourth session, she seemed aghast that I had acquired such a thing at a fundraiser – “we never donate certificates of this value” I believe was what she said to me – and was really quite bummed out that she had to honor it. I think she was ready to call her fellow owner (who presumably issued the certificate) right then and there and cuss her out. I could tell she was peeved with her colleague, but I felt as though she also was peeved at me. To further convince me that I was right, she begrudgingly agreed to honor the certificate (for which I did pay real money, you understand), but not the $10-off early bird special they happened to be running that day.

What’s going on here? I understand that a small business owner has to wear all hats – controller as well as marketer. However, when poor marketing has a negative impact on revenue, the controller conscience should recognize the impending “cost” (loss of customer) and back off.

In the book Creating Customer Evangelists, authors Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba discuss how to cultivate loyal customers – certainly for the long-term value they themselves represent, but almost even more for their potential as a volunteer sales force.

Remember the last time you found a product that thrilled you so much you couldn’t stop talking about it to your friends? I remember several years ago discovering Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, which, with just water, made my dingy kitchen cabinets look freshly painted, all because of their amazing cleaning ability. My latest find, thanks to my friend Amy, is the Method line of home cleaning products carried at Target. She gave them to me as a gift; I in turn gave them as gifts to three others and have probably told 10 more about them.

Do you see the potential? Delighted customers can be your best salespeople – they are genuinely passionate about your products or services; they aren’t employees and are therefore more credible, and they aren’t even on your payroll! What’s more, your PR and marketing efforts will go much further when you already have evangelists in the marketplace dousing your prospects with kerosene-like enthusiasm.

Creating customer evangelists is really quite simple: treat your customers as you would like to be treated. Thrill them with attention. Check on their satisfaction. Take every opportunity to say “thank you,” and show how much you value your relationship with them. Don’t quibble over small change.

Meanwhile, back at the gym – actually, we won’t be going back. There won’t be any glowing recommendations about our experiences there. They did not turn me into a customer evangelist. My daughter enjoyed it very much, and they do an amazing job with so many small children. And if someone ever asks me how we liked going there, I’m sure I’ll tell them that. But the bad taste in my mouth will involuntarily trigger an odd look on my face and a hesitation in my voice, and I will be compelled to explain that my business was not valued.