The business world seems to have given up on loyalty: many major corporations now lose - and have to replace - half their customers in five years, half their employees in four, and half their investors in less than one. This book shows why companies that ignore these skyrocketing defections face a dismal future of low growth, weak profits, and shortened life expectancy. In The Loyalty Effect Fred Reichheld demonstrates the power of loyalty-based management as a highly profitable alternative to the economics of perpetual churn. He lays out the principles that connect value creation, loyalty, growth, and profits and shows how great companies like State Farm, Toyota/Lexus, MBNA, John Deere, and the Leo Burnett advertising agency have used these principles to build unassailable franchises of loyal customers, loyal employees, and loyal owners. He describes the key business philosophies that underlie the remarkable results of these loyalty leaders. The Loyalty Effect will provide your company with an effective approach to sustained value creation and change the way you think about loyalty, profits, and the nature of business. Reichheld makes the powerful economic case for loyalty - and takes you through the numbers to prove it. His startling conclusions show how even a small improvement in customer retention can double profits for your company.