One of the principal challenges for a startup, or even a seasoned business, goes beyond just knowing how to market the brand. Once branding develops feet of its own, it’s imperative that the brand develops loyalty, especially among millennials. Jose Daniel Duarte, a well-known businessman in Costa Rica, recognizes the challenges and is proactively implementing steps to ensure his clients stay loyal. The goal is to keep the millennial customers satisfied with what is being offered. Only when they are satisfied will they come back to buy, become loyal to a brand, talk about it and help the business expand.
Brand loyalty is big business. It requires continuous analysis of procedures to stay ahead of the customers, and often means a serious injection of cash. However, it’s a necessary part of the business since keeping a customer is generally considered to be less expensive as gaining a new one. This means a larger return on the investment and, with an estimated purchase power of over $600 billion, it’s important to keep millennials coming back.
“There are a lot of ways to keep customers satisfied,” says Duarte. “It starts with the quality of our products and services, ensuring that we listen to our customers to deliver what they want, while providing only the highest quality at all times.” In fact, history has shown that customers will drop a relationship quickly if quality slides. Ford Motor Company was on its way out the door before it turned up the heat on quality, helping to bring back some of the clients it had lost during its down cycle. Millennials are accustomed to a disposable society in which, if the goods or services don’t measure up, they immediately look for an alternative. Millennials require products that work, regardless of how they look or taste or how successful a marketing campaign may be.
Duarte is a successful business leader from Costa Rica. He started his first business over 21 years ago before reaching his 20th birthday, and never looked back. That business, DecoCar, specializing in automobile customization and replacement parts, is still going strong today. After launching DecoCar, Duarte was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and opened the doors to the launch of many other operations. He is an expert in the eCommerce industry and is also in the process of launching an innovative software platform that, while still under wraps, will revolutionize eCommerce. He has been fundamental in helping to mold the business atmosphere in Costa Rica, as well as abroad.
In looking for ways to retain his millennial customer base, Duarte has also developed procedures to ensure that the businesses are always connected. He employs Artificial Intelligence chatbots to interact with clients and help them find the answers they need. This allows the operations to be there at any time, whenever the client is ready to make a purchase. He is developing a strong social media presence to not only interact with clients, but to provide a virtual showcase of products and services that are client-centric. While Facebook, Instagram and virtually all social media platforms utilize technology to provide results based on a viewer’s browsing habits, Duarte uses the platforms to engage one-on-one with the clients in order to build long-lasting relationships with them. “Once you get organized, it’s not overly difficult to stay on top of the many aspects of running multiple businesses,” explains Duarte. “It requires a great deal of discipline and dedication, but the end results are worth it.”
In addition to managing a diverse portfolio of businesses, Duarte is also the Commercial Director and partner of DLB Group Worldwide, an international marketing company headquartered in Venezuela. It now has offices in Mexico and Costa Rica, as well, and Duarte was sought out directly by the founder of DLB, Larry Hernandez, to head operations in Costa Rica. With Duarte’s input, DLB has been responsible for securing million-dollar contracts with companies such as Subway, Bridgestone, Audi and DHL.