Over the years we’ve read hundreds, if not thousands, of brand stories. We do this so you don’t have to, fine reader, because it’s our job and because we absolutely love them. We’re fascinated by what makes businesses thrive, grow and sometimes self-destruct. From all these stories we’ve distilled four factors for brand loyalty - factors that ensure you will thrive in the face of disruption and innovation. Factors that when given your focus, lead to success.
We all want loyal customers; to become a habit in someone’s life.
The golden rewards of being the coffee they always drink, the hotel they always stay at, the accountant they’ve worked with for years, the store they always go to etc. In loyalty we are impermeable to competition and our business is chosen without any other choice even standing a chance. So how do we create loyalty in the age of disruption? By focusing on four key factors; comfort, cost, convenience and convergence.
Comfort. All the successful brands we saw brought their customers from a feeling of need/want into comfort. They focused on answering a question for the market - whether it be with a product or service. Once the need was met, customers walked away confident that in the future, the company would rise to the occasion again and trust was born.
Cost. Until an innovation comes about where we don’t exchange currency for goods and services, cost will always be important. This doesn’t mean to create loyalty, one should race to the bottom price wise, in fact many of our most habit forming brands are among the most expensive in their market. Focusing on cost really means focusing on perceived value and giving people what they paid for. Our most successful brands made it their job to ensure customers felt their money was well spent, explaining why they are of value and keeping the price promise.
Convenience. Products and services don’t only cost customer’s money, they also cost time. This factor relates to all your business processes, from the number of hoops people need to jump through on your shopping cart, to how far they need to drive to your store. Everyone is busy and our successful brands earned loyalty by appreciating and saving customers time.
Convergence. Loyal customers feel their ideals line up with the companies they work with. The most successful businesses understand their customers and what they believe in, making their products/services part of the individual’s identity. There isn’t one ideal for everyone, which is why when some people flee from a brand for aligning themselves with something, others flock. Our most successful brands were names people said they were proud to be loyal to.
What are you doing every day to increase improve these factors of your business?