In an increasingly competitive market, how can companies build loyalty? Ron Kaufman, author of the New York Times’ bestseller Uplifting Service and one of the top customer service gurus globally, has guidelines for businesses to authentically care about customers. In an exclusive chat with Outlook Business, he talks about the evolving service industry and shares his ideas on creating a great customer experience.

You have trained top companies across continents for nearly three decades now, how has the service culture evolved over the years?

When I started in 1990, the key phrase was ‘customer satisfaction’. When I asked why, they would say ‘a satisfied customer will be a loyal customer’. Soon, that was not enough. So, everyone started focusing on customer experience. Turns out, even that was also not enough. As the world continued to mature, customer loyalty started needing customer advocacy. Now, gradually, this is moving towards customer partnership and authentic customer care. ‘Care’ like you are concerned about their future, worries and