Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Brand Loyalty is a lot like Love

Most of us have certain brands that we are loyal to. This got me thinking tonight that being loyal to a brand is a lot like loving someone. You start out slow to see if things are going to work and as things progress and trust is built you become loyal to the one you love. And so it is with brands.

For example if you ask any Apple fan to explain to you their loyalty you will quickly see their loving emotions evoked. Other strong brands that often build loyalty include Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Nike, Blackberry, Ford, Chevy, VW or just about any car brand, Trek or Specialized or Cannondale road bikes, Garmin, Gatorade, Grey Goose vodka, etc. I could go on and on but you see where I'm going with this.

So the question is do you love the brand you're with or try something new from time to time? The brands hope you remain loyal but just as people sour on relationships so to do brand ambassadors abandon ship sometimes. How do brands ensure their loyal customers stay loyal? As with love the best they can do is treat people well, meet their expectations and continue to provide quality and innovation in product or service.

1 comment:

  1. That's a really great analogy for brand loyalty.

    I'd even go a step further to say that some brand loyalty can be more like an abusive relationship... take Apple for example. I have a friend that has had three problems with three different iphones, but she loves the Apple brand so much, she isn't willing to try another phone.

    ReplyDelete