Brand Loyalty...

Wait'll next year...

I'm a Cubs fan. I'm not a diehard follower of every game. I don't get to watch much baseball. But of the two teams here in town, I've always favored the Cubbies. And we've chanted every year the same phrase: "Wait'll next year!" and remain loyal despite a non-World Series record older than I am.

Why?

I don't know. I don't think most Cub fans know. The team always chokes in the end. Their ballpark is ancient. They don't have a parking lot. And their mascot is a not-very-threatening baby bear.

Ask any brand loyalist and few can articulate why they prefer Colgate to Crest or Coke to Pepsi. In fact, most answers you get are more tied to emotion than reason: "My mom always bought Tide." "You know Ford stands for Fix Or Repair Daily." "I've eaten Wheaties since I was a kid." "Head & Shoulders works for me, why risk trying something new?"

So how do you fight brand loyalty. It's very, very hard.

One thing you don't want to do is directly bash the favored brand. That can force loyalists to dig in their heels. It's like saying something bad about America. I can do it. But let an outsider say a word and I'd be all over them.

There are two common approaches to help sway brand preference: Get to prospects before they form a brand allegiance and/or be as different from the favored brand as possible.

Brand allegiances can be strong. That's why banks offer children of depositors free savings accounts. And that's why I suggest my tool & equipment clients get their products into as many vo-tech schools as possible. Students who learn on a product tend to favor that brand.

And strong brand differentiation helps. Rather than being a horse of a different color, you need to be an entirely different animal. More like a camel. The novelty or uniqueness of your approach can't be subtle. It should be so different it draws prospects in to try it. For instance, Starbucks doesn't sell coffee -- they sell an experience.

I’m still a fan of my Cubs, and wait'll next year!

Branding's Dirty Little Secret...

know this is not the appropriate place to air my dirty laundry, but I can't hold it in any longer: Beth has been disloyal.

She probably didn't think I'd notice the signs. I probably ignored them hoping they would just go away.

But last night I couldn't ignore it any longer. This morning, I confronted her:

"I can't hold it in any more," I said. "Why? Why did you change from Tide to Era?"

"What brought this on?" Beth asked.

"Yesterday I helped you carry that Era container in, and I tossed the old one out. How long has this been going on?"

"I've been buying Era for a year, maybe two," she said without emotion. "If it's a big deal to you, I'll stop."

"I just want to understand," I replied. "What made you change your loyalties?"

"Era is half the price of Tide," Beth replied. "If it bothers you, I'll switch back. PJ gets dirtier in summer. Tide might work better."

"Now wait a minute! Half price? Really? I don't see why being brand loyal to Tide is such a big deal. It's only soap..."

Baby Boomers are infamously brand disloyal. It doesn't matter if they're B2C customers or B2B. And as they age, their allegiance to brand wavers even more. Their parents' generation became more loyal with age, but many Boomers become more discontent. The reasons vary. Some switch for what's new or trendy. Some switch for lower price. Some switch for higher quality. The key to keeping their loyalty is to follow their changing buying patterns and produce different products, services and "buying experiences" to meet their changing, fickle taste. Or I should say OUR changing, fickle taste.

What are you doing to keep your customers' loyalty? How has your product improved? How are you selling differently?

- Phil Sasso