The Myth of Brand Loyalty

But in the converse, the brand isn't loyal to me. Or at least, it's got amnesia. They don't have a clue that I'm here.

Maybe it's brand amnesia.

Good catch, though, Allen. Best to you. : )

Welcome to my world. I get emails from apple at least weekly trying to sell me an iPhone. The problem? I live in South Dakota where the iPhone is unavailable and they should know this because they got my email and home address when I purchased an iPod Touch from them. So in my case it is not so much that they don't remember me, they can't even figure out that they are sending product emails to folks that can't even purchase them!

It would be nice to see companies utilize this strategy in their CRM and nurture, a bit, the relationship between consumer and brand – but would be even more interesting to see the numbers before and after the change. How many CBs will click through much more relevant email marketing pieces? How much of that would actually equate to increased sales because of a minor shift in their CRM? Or would we just be more prone to remember that Apple, GM, etc. remembered us as an actual person and not just a piece of their sales figure?

Just some thoughts – but regardless of the answer, it's a shift companies need to make.

Apple's emails bug me to no end… I can't afford any of their new laptops right now (unfortunately – I would love nothing more than a shiny new one!!), and when I have the money their website is where I'll go right away to order one. In the mean time, I've clicked the “unsubscribe” link appropximately eight times and the emails haven't stopped. Lame, Apple. Lame.

(since Twitter is down, @refrshingapathy)

It's hard, Chris. They're trying to recruit new users by showing their advantage and I think sometimes they can't tell you why Mac is good in one sentence. So, they need to repeat and repeat what you really known.

Apple are very poor at email marketing. I am in Australia, have bought only from their Australian online store etc, have a .au email address registered with them, and yet still receive emails for US holiday promotions (eg US fathers day which is different to Australian fathers day).

Mike – you don't see why this pertains to conversations about blogging and business communication? Really?

The whole point of the post (and if you recall, it wasn't exactly just about Apple, but I was using them to illustrate the point) was that companies have no memory of their interaction with their buyers, and that I find this unfortunate.

It's rarely all about me, Mike. I just use me as the “point of view” to get the point across.

Diva-like. I'm going to have one of my people find you and refute that, once they bring me my frappucino (or whatever Divas drink).

I got the same email, and if you are interested in the viewpoint of a regular person (non-tech, non-PR, non-social media, non-geek), here it is. My first hope upon seeing the email was that I might learn something about the MacBook Pro I had recently purchased, and when I discovered that there was nothing new for me to learn here (except to congratulate myself on my own cleverness in making a smart purchase), I deleted the email and moved on. My generall feeling was 1) that Apple is actively trying to sell these; 2) that this “arm” of Apple could not know that I had just purchased one; 3) that I was maybe *ahead* of the crowd, since I own one of the latest models for a change; 4) that maybe they know I am an *Apple person* or maybe they don't, but they are not just sitting back and hoping that word-of-mouth or TV ads will sell their products.

I didn't feel bothered or slighted – just a little disappointed that I didn't learn anything from having given the email a quick look-over.

My current (and related) peeve: I responded to an email from Delta offering to transfer my Northwest miles to Delta as part of the merger transition. Great! I did so promptly. I am *still* receiving emails from Delta and now Northwest with the same offer. Can't they figure out a way to flag my account once I've taken an action?

What you're asking seems so basic to developing good relationships with customers, Chris. Especially with loyal customers who would like to remain loyal customers.

I'd heard about VRM but never spent any time investigating until now. Isn't Doc Searls involved in that project?

I think you'd definitely have to have a voluntary, opt-in approach (like to, say, your newsletter) to this kind of database and applications to get this kind of customer experience because, when you think about it, you'd be volunteering a lot of behavioral data to allow the vendor in question to provide this additional service. Some people would argue that it was intrusive and would violate your privacy, so I agree that it would have to be voluntary.

Good post, Chris. I agree entirely, as both a Mac fanatic (this MacBook Pro 15″ is my eighth Mac since 1990) and a marketer. I think of this whenever a bank ATM or a Website still asks for a language preference after I've been there more than 100 times.

Given that the technology has been available literally for well over a decade now, and given that some small restaurants and retailers are doing it extremely well, there's no reason for the big companies to have not clued in by now. It's the classic case of the store that spends a fortune advertising, but then has a store or staff that fails to excite or even show interest in their customers when some people finally do come in.

Apple, like many companies, make great products and market them extremely well, but little experiences like this slowly and surely take the shine off the apple.

As customer acquisition and retention improves I think we'll see some in-house marketers finally get it and start tying all of their sales and user data together with their marketing efforts.
I too am a big fan of both Apple and Coke brands, neither of which know me very well. Mercedes on the other hand sends me reminders about maintenance, new add-ons, and products. They know how old my car is and what model, both of which are used to get me into their shops for maintenance, or even safe winter driving tips. Okay, they don't know that I grew up in the Berkshires and could drive a 15-year old front-wheel drive station wagon up a 45 degree incline with bald tires during a blizzard.

The comments above concerning opt-in marketing are intriguing. I've long held that consumers don't hate advertising and marketing, they just hate irrelevant advertising and marketing. Advertisers, marketers, software developers should take note and go the extra distance to insure relevant advertising if, like some of us, advertising is part of their revenue.

I see two sides to this conversation, Chris.

Brand loyalty isn't always a 2-way street. I mean, hell, I'm a HUGE Boston Red Sox fan. I've been to a number of games, all over the nation. I have no less than 50 pieces of Red Sox apparel. Specifically, I have more jerseys with the #34 on them than I can count. But does Big Papi send me a thank-you card?

Then, there's the issue of volume, channels of communication, and touch points where I, as a consumer, can connect to be “closer” as a brand advocate (Red Sox Nation, Web site mailing lists, Facebook pages, etc.) But much of that isn't run by the boys in Boston.

Here's the other side of the coin… I bought a Jeep from a local, central Iowa dealer 5 years ago. I receive a postcard once a month, regular as clockwork, from the dealership. Although not unusual, the fact that the cards have been intentionally designed by “Corporate” to have the salesperson hand scribe messages onto it makes me feel like they are “reciprocating the love.” Precognisant? Sure. Strategic? Sure. Does it make me want to go back and buy my next Jeep from them? It's not the card, it's the personal, had-written message from “Dale” that will bring me back.

So, my slant? Personal connection to my brands (yes MY brands) like Apple, Jeep, Red Sox, etc. need to have reciprocal love. But maybe I'd be a little naïve to expect a letter from Big Papi for being such a huge fan.

Volume channels for companies (like that) need to have the infrastructure to communicate to their brand loyalists at a more finite level. Does my Jeep welcome me “Thanks for starting me, Andy…” ? No… Should ads pushed to your email or shiny new MacBook say “Hey, Chris, thanks for all your years of loyalty…” No. But the dealers or outlets need to have a system, driven by corporate brand initiatives, to communicate BETTER to you…

So big-picture, yes, loyalists need to be rewarded. But reasonably I can't expect Steve Jobs to send me a fruit basket for buying my 100th Apple product in 15 years.

LOVE the conversation!
Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Brands often forget that with every interaction the relationship between brand and constituent can be strengthened or weakened. It's not rocket science. Take the time to get to know your constituents and what their expectation of the relationship is. When so much is invested in a brand to keep it from becoming a commodity, I'm amazed how many big brands treat constituents like a commodity. Apple's resurgence is based in large part on the user experience of its products. To take the next step Apple will need to apply that same principal to the brand experience.

Chris, out of curiosity, has Apple reached out to you about this? Will you post a follow up if they do?

Chris, you really gave me a good belly laugh this morning. I've worked in CRM in both financial services and automotive.

Depending on the lifecycle of the product and the number of customers, the investment in a link between prospects and past purchasers becomes a question of ROI. Some vendors have spent literally years with clients sharing the CRM benefits of using tools to tie incoming leads to current customers. For example, Acxiom has a very good tool called Abillitec that links customer data together by address. However, with millions of customers, it's a significant investment to implement this key.

I think opt-in concept is an interesting idea. While Privacy is close to an amendment right to many, some more flexible, early adopters might consider it. I would, because I want the best offers!

Depending on the product, this demographic could be most at risk for defection too (automotive). Loyalty to a product (depending on the investment) is tied to personal risk. The more willing to seek and feel comfortable with new information, the higher the defection.

I love CRM and would love to social media interactions added to the big picture too! Maybe sometype of cookie? I personally agree, the first company to get there would win big!

Chris: Agree w/ u 200% about brand loyalty…Should be EASY given today's vast CRM capabilities!

Chris,

I share your pain, though wince at your title.

Data driven marketing is easily measured and justifiable in the corporate suite. It has also become table stakes in so many industries (cards, retail, airlines, hotel). Despite being around for over 25 years, the loyalty marketing industry has failed to deliver on two of its biggest promises:

1. Using data collected to deliver relevant and compelling offers/promotions
2. Using the trusted environment of loyalty programs to learn more about customer preferences – the type that just don't come through on surveys and customer satisfaction polls.

In my article about the way airlines under-utilize data Airlines Take Flight Without Data I share a similar story. I agree completely that Apple and many others should make better use of their data and avoid annoying generic offers that scream “we talk the talk, but don't walk the walk”.

Customer identification is key to execution, but I assume that Apple should know you have made multiple purchases given their registration processes.

Maybe they need a more explicit form of loyalty program to make it happen the right way. Brand loyalty is not a myth, its just that too many companies don't execute their Customer Strategy as they should.

Thanks for bringing this to light.

Bill

I definitely agree that any company (especially ones where single purchases reach into the $1000+ range) should keep track of the purchases. It would be interesting to find out if there were any privacy laws or such that would keep a company from maintaining a detailed enough database on this. Unfortunately, it only takes one jerk with a sleazy lawyer to ruin it for the rest of us…I'm wondering if that comes into play here.

8 Mac Desktops (not counting that Apple IIc), 14 Powerbooks/MacBook Pros, 8 iPods and 3 iPhones, 2,312 songs, 7 movies, 28 TV episodes, 22 paid apps and I'm STILL waiting for a simple birthday card from Apple (April 2nd in case anyone at Apple is reading this…)

In all fairness, Chris, YOU have not yet sent me birthday wishes even though I read your blog almost every day, which you should know if you have been paying attention to your server logs….. (I jest, of course… I don't have any expectation that you wish me happy birthday every year, even though you could easily have some software track birthdays of all your readers and send out greetings automatically, simulating concern.)

Celebrities have the same issue, which is why Twitter and Social Media did not work out for Trent Reznor. At what point is caring about the lives of fans an important component of selling music? The only thing NIN committed to fans is to produce and deliver great music. But the fans always want more. They have no right to expect more from a relationship that the other party did not commit to, but they still do.

The ONLY thing I want from Apple is insanely great computers that work every time I need them to. I don't care to have a relationship with the brand beyond that. That is all they ever promised me and all I should ever expect. Why is more expected?

I expect just a little different from YOU though, because your product is different. You are selling interactivity, personal touch, trust. I don't ever expect you to reply (that is a bonus if you do) but I do expect you to have a blog post at regular intervals, be able to drop a comment on your blog and — if we were ever to book you to speak — that you show up and speak and that you be engaging, funny and trustworthy. But, if you decide to quit publishing your blog, that would be ok and I should expect nothing more from you.

A relationship with a brand is over-rated and an unrealistic expectation. It will always be one that requires the first party be something to the second party simply for the purpose of extracting money from the second party. Any other expectation is a delusion.

BTW, perhaps if you had sprung for the 17″ MacBook Pro, Apple might …. naw, didn't work for me either. I got the same email and I did buy a 17″ :-)

Chris,

I am assuming that they sent this to an email address that is registered with your iTunes/Apple Procare account. If it wasn't then you really can't blame them for the send. Even today's technology has its limitations.

With that said, Apple has always sucked at email marketing and that is because of three big issues:

1.) Corporate culture of massive secrecy and compartmentalization of information that would make many of the government agencies here in DC jealous.

2.) Inability or political will to create a centralized CRM data mart that shows the entire organization what customers and their registered emails own what products so a marketing manager can pull an accurate list.

3.) Desire to push emails to you just in case their data is wrong and they need to cover their butts.

Hi Chris….No matter how small or large the brand, we all want to be remembered. That's why I used to love our neighborhood pharmacy when I was growing up because they knew who I was, made personal recommendations and took the time to listen. Is it possible for a large brand to maintain the same type of closeness that you got at a mom and pop store 30 years ago? You may not receive the same friendly smile but I would think that today a company should remember a customer and know their preferences. With all of the great technology that is available to organizations there's really no excuse. Maybe Apple can get away with this because it's Apple and they are a well established brand, but the companies that are trying to build their reputations and gain marketshare will have to be on top of their customer's every move and preference. Great post!

These are definitely the kinds of moments that frustrate loyal customers, but given the mass production and distribution (not to mention distribution channels) of these products it is hard to imagine an efficient way to identify distinct, loyal customers, especially virtually.

Until we get to a point where there is a standard, universal identity firms will continue to blast market their products without the slightest idea whether they are annoying a loyal customer or reaching a possible convert. Not only that, but even if we get to universal identities the ability to discern between loyal and untapped needs to be efficient enough where the benefit outweighs the cost.

I believe the Print division of HP (you know, the cash cow) has 10 or 11 customer facing CRM systems, each supporting different touchpoints with the customer. I know they are working hard to integrate what looks like 11 customers touching the company once into a more accurate picture of 1 customer touching the company 11 different ways.

But the real issue isn't how many CRM systems they have – it's how many silos within which they interact with customers, and developing a unified business view and strategy for long term customer value and loyalty (and whether that is even a goal). Without this unifying context, then whether the information is in 1 system or 10, the functional silos that exist will still lead to these disconnects. A unified business view of the full customer lifetime with a brand, and strategies and tactics supporting that unified view, are still very hard to come by.

Kevin Boulas