Members Only - The Costco Way
May 17, 2008
Costco, the international membership only warehouse operator, is a well known and highly profitable company. Yet they do no advertising. Their success is solely attributable to the service and value that they provide to their members. Costco’s advertising is the word of mouth of its more than 50 million members. Just about every dollar spent by Costco goes towards procuring brand name merchandise in bulk at wholesale costs for the benefit of their members.
Through Costco’s collective buying power, its members get the benefits of wholesale prices that would be impossible to obtain as individuals. Sure, they pay about a 10% mark up, but if they purchased similar goods elsewhere they would pay a lot more.
Costco also treats their employees well. They do not have the union issues that plague WalMart because they provide generous benefits and pay substantially higher than minumum wage. Theft of merchandise by employees at Costco is also low.
By treating their customers well and making them true partners in the enterprise, they have been rewarded by their customers with millions of referrals.
By treating their employees well, they have avoided union issues and “shrinkage” but more importantly Costco has a staff that is more responsive to their customers’ needs than other chain store operators.
The Costco model is worth emulating. To do so, begin by asking these questions:
* How can I provide my clients with a service that only I can provide?
* How can I relay in words and deeds that everything I do, I do for the benefit of my members?
* How can I ensure that the benefit I provide to my members is of higher value than my competitors, either in terms of price or service, or both.
* How can I make sure that my staff treats my customers the same way?
Perfect this model and you can improve the satisfaction of your customers, get more referrals and reduce your sales and marketing expenses.
Louis Cammarosano
General Manager
Homegain.com
How about an absolute guarantee of satisfaction (except for electronic issues, which even Costco limits these days)?
I’ll let Louis answer you directly on behalf of Homegain but in my opinion the warranty that you get from Costco or from any manufacturer is based upon how you maintain and operate the merchandise. If you do not properly maintain and operate the merchandise according to how it is supposed to be operated then you end up with an invalid warranty.
When you buy a Homegain lead, the product is the LEAD. If the lead is bad based upon incorrect information or something in that regard, I would assume that Homegain, like Costco, would stand behind their product.
However, if like most agents who whine about lead services, you expect Homegain to guarantee that the person or lead is going to buy, then that’s a fantasy. Think of it this way, if every lead Homegain provided was guaranteed to buy a home…why in the hell would they need you or have any need to sell ANY lead.
Agents need to understand this is a business and business requires a knowledge of marketing and utilizing leads for waht they are. Prospects!
I love it when members at Costco do not find what they are looking for and say, I guess i’m going to Sam’s club. I tell people, well GO to Sam’s Club, you are not hurting Costco, you are hurting yourself. AND YOUR HELPING Wal-mart stay in business BY SHOPPING AT Sams Club. anyways I came across the wrong page and had something to say.
i understand that you offer help to realtors when we have a house for sale. If the owner and myself are costco members you have a program where agent can have flyers available to buyers and we offer a costco gift card to agents showing property. I don’t know, i have just heard something about it. could you call me so i can see what you offer or email me. I live in Schertz, Texas area. You have a new store on IH 35 N. in Selma or Schertz. is there someone in that store i should contact. thank you for your help. marsha bane 210-651-9659