Posts Tagged brand loyalty
What You Could Learn From Costco
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Identity on August 10, 2010
I like going to Costco. Free food samples, good prices on good products, a frequently changing selection, interesting people-watching, and the occasional I’ve-got-to-get-this-today-because-I-know-it-won’t-be-here-tomorrow deal. I’ve bought eyeglasses at Costco. Discounted movie tickets and spa packages. And wine and fresh flowers, too.
It’s big. It’s not too crowded (except on weekends). And there’s something very “I’ve just robbed the bank”-ish about walking out with a 52 pound bag of dog food and having paid what a 25 pound bag would cost at a regular grocery store.
There are at least a dozen other reasons to like Costco. And, for me, it all fits into a singular image of this: selection (not the widest but enough for me most of the time) and value in a no-frills-but-enjoyable shopping experience.
I suspect most loyal Costo customers have the same image. And I suspect the good folks at Costco planned for this image to take root by very deliberately mapping out their brand identity platform, and then executing it to near perfection through their various brand touchpoints.
By developing their brand identity, Costco management also clearly defined several things they are not. Service is not their strong point. Neither is product selection. Elegant ambience is another thing Costo leaves to other retailers. A limited number of locations is ok by them. Product displays are a secondary consideration to functional stocking logistics. All these possible negatives, and more, are just fine with Costco. Because none of them are a part of the brand identity they developed.
Though Costco is unabashedly not all things to all people, they somehow manage to accomodate a very large number of disparate customer groups.
Simply, Costco operates in a manner which is completely synchronized with their strategically-developed brand identity. Their customers come to Costco for the right reasons — the reasons Costco itself has identified and communicated via their brand touch points – and rarely leave disillusioned. And business is good at Costco.
Yes, your business is completely different from Costco’s. But you can take away at least this from the Costco model: it’s ok to remain true to your brand identity and eschew the notion of being all things to all people. It’s not a bad way to run a successful business, as the folks at Costco know.
Madmen & Loyal Brand Customers
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Touchpoints on July 30, 2010
photo copyright AMC
I like the AMC cable tv series, Madmen. It’s set in the early 1960′s New York advertising agency world and seems to deliver an accurate peek into how that business operated back then (well before my time) while weaving in the requisite tv drama of relationship issues, marital affairs, etc.
There’s a natural interest because of the advertising business context, my livelihood for the past 30 years. But there’s something more. There’s a certain visual style, a consistent smartness to the writing, a tight definition of the character roles, a freshness to the plot turns, and a real involvement with the unfolding storyline and the characters. Every time I watch, I have an expectation that my one-hour investment won’t be wasted.
Madmen appeals to me for various reasons, and it continues to reinforce those reasons every time I tune in. From day one, I’ve been a loyal customer of the show. And, until the producers mess up and give me a reason to stray elsewhere, I’ll continue to tune in to AMC every Sunday night at 10pm.
Apparently I’m not alone. The show does well in the ratings and has garnered critical acclaim since it began its run in the summer of 2007. And for uber-fanatics, there are various ways to become even more deeply engaged with the show and it’s characters online and through social media.
Successful tv shows like Madmen are actually no different than successful brands.
Just as for well-liked tv shows, well-liked brands cultivate customer loyalty by consistently reinforcing the reasons those customers became customers to begin with. They do this by carefully identifying, prioritizing, and then deliberately managing the customer interactions with the brand — the brand touchpoints — that drive the sale, reinforce brand loyalty, and foster a genuine long-term engagement.
Customers form a positive image about the brands they repeatedly use, just like they do for the tv shows they routinely watch. Maybe it’s worth thinking about your brands as if they were tv shows:
- Are people tuning in?
- Tuning out?
- Are they regular viewers?
- Hit and miss?
- Loyal fanatics?
- Why?
Getting a handle on this now so you can better manage your brand touchpoints that matter will pay off with brand loyalty later.