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October 18, 2005
How Some Customers Take Ownership of Their Relationship With Your Brand…
The Not-So-Rose-Colored-Glasses of “www.yourbrand.typepad.com”
Though passionate customers are not a new phenomenon, some brands aren’t quite sure what to do with those bloggers who’ve taken to both proselytizing and vilifying individual brands. Typically, passionate customers are viewed as a good thing. In fact, many brand marketers look to those “living” in the loyalty and advocacy stages of the Customer Relationship as the ultimate customers.
After all, the stats for keeping loyal customers are compelling. Loyal customers are those who stick with your brand over the long term, even if they’re not getting the best price. They tend to transact and invest more over time as their income grows, or as they devote an increasingly larger “share of wallet” to a company they feel good about. In fact, a recent Accenture study of top executives puts “increasing customer loyalty and retention” at number 5 on the Top 10 Business Issues for Senior Executives. (Though this beats out number 8, “increasing shareholder value,” We’ll see what happens when it’s time to post the quarterlies…).
At the same time, these “brand bloggers” aren’t blindly loyal. They look at the good, and the bad. Many seem to view it as their job to help their brands improve. Blogs such as Jim Romenesko’s at starbucksgossip.typepad.com look at topics ranging from favorite flavors to the way Starbuck’s treats it’s employees. And at hackingnetflix.com blog, readers learn about service quality, stock market performance, and competition. These folks are seriously involved, and the brands they – and hundreds of others – are blogging about, should take them seriously as well.
For the last several years, we’ve talked about how ownership of brands is moving from the product itself to the people behind the brand. And this trend continues, as individual consumers take ownership even further, by pointing out some of the flaws in their favorite brands.
Yes, sometimes the news can hurt when a loved one tells you that shirt you love looks like something left over from high-school, or that you’ve got bad breath. Worse yet, that you’ve put on a couple of pounds. But it is the thought that counts, and these loyal customers have something worth saying. In many cases, they really are just trying to help. That’s why this is such a great opportunity for smart brands to watch, learn and change as a result.
[…I wonder if there’s a blog for In-n-Out fans?]
Posted by MCorp. at 18.10.2005 10:26 | Permalink