As Arafat shared in his last piece, we’re constantly looking for opportunities to engage with brands and make them our own.
Smart Company recently posted a report on loyalty in which 84% of responders said that they would be loyal to a business if they showed loyalty back. While the article goes on to mention ways to build loyalty, the solution goes deeper than lowering prices or offering discount cards. Loyalty is earned by showing genuine interest and connecting in a meaningful way.
Here are five ways brands can earn Gen Y’s loyalty:
Be social with all available channels
You can’t build loyalty and relationships without first building trust through open communication. This goes beyond a Facebook page — it needs to be a fundamental shift in your brand strategy and should affect every touch point of your brand. For example, Frank Eliason, Senior Director of Customer Service at Comcast uses Twitter (@comcastcares) to respond to critical customer service requests (Frank just recently posted on the fundamental changes at Comcast throughout his tenure and his upcoming departure). Another example is giving a consumer who called your customer service department a direct number to call back in case of a disconnect. It’s the small things at critical moments that matter.
You have a multitude of channels available at your disposal. Just because your company doesn’t “do video” doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Old Spice’s recent campaign is an excellent example of cross-channel communication, with their YouTube channel (over 60 million views), Facebook page (600,000 likes) and Twitter account (60,000 followers) all playing a vital role in the campaign. Old Spice sales are up 16.7% as of June 13.
Listen to your customers
I know this sounds obvious, but the more you can show that you are listening and responding (engaging), the more trust is gained. Arafat’s story about his interaction with John Fluevog is an incredible story, and they won over a customer for life. We’re not expecting any special favors. The point is, the breand cared enough to listen to a consumer’s needs and deliver on them. What if I need to make a return later on? How can I be certain another store will care enough to help?
Get Polyamorous
The consumer is in control of the relationship, not the brand. So, what’s polyamorous? It’s the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. Brands need to be capable of maintaining relationships with those who want one, and still be OK with those who just want a fling. Being able to manage relationships on multiple levels shows that you care enough to not lump everyone together. How do you do this? Through cross channel, multi-leveled integrated communication, so we can decide how and how often to interact with a brand.
Believe in Something
We’re not going to care if you don’t care. If we don’t believe what your brand believes, we’re probably not going to care enough to give you our loyalty. Take Zappos, for example, and their belief in delivering the best customer service. It permeates every aspect of their business from company policy to office culture. I believe in great service, and I’m going to be a loyal Zappos customer because I believe in what they do. If you deliver a great experience, you’ll give me something to care about. Take that a step farther and give me something to believe in, and I’m hooked.
Care about the right things
If your business only cares about making money, none of my suggestions will help. As Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh tweeted last week, “Profits are like oxygen. You need it to survive, but ultimately what matters is passion, growth, and a higher purpose.” We ultimately care about sharing what you have to offer. The best boots money can buy. The best service money can buy. If you make a profit (and we hope you do), terrific. If you continue to engage us positively, we’ll be loyal for life.
Graphic by ENGAGEMENTdb
Excellent article, Seth. I would also add transparency to the list. Companies such as Domino’s and Nestle have learned the hard way that if you’re not transparent about your brand and your intentions – especially in your social media efforts – people will see right through it and call you out.
Definitely agree with these ideas, and also with Jessica re: transparency. Domino’s is taking transparency to the next level (allegedly) and their sales are apparently soaring because of it.
I think another important thing that makes me more apt to listen is if they can speak in our language/tone. We’re a generation that grew up on shows like Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and Conan; we love meta-comedy and satire. Brands like ubyKotex seem to get it, and I would even say the Old Spice ads had an element of “we know we’re ridiculous, so we all can laugh.” UbyKotex ads made fun of their category and knew how to make fun of itself; I think that self-deprecating humor is important to us.
That being said, there’s nothing worse than a brand who tries to speak our “language” by using slang that is out-of-date or misunderstood.
Tom
@tmiesen
@Tom Hah oh boy, you’re right… a brand that tries really, really hurts to watch. If it’s not authentic, then its probably just bad acting.
@Jessica Thank you for mentioning, transparency should definitely be on that list. It’s just like any relationship.. your intentions should be clear and understood before any trust can be built.
To add on a bit,
A tip I always give when working with small businesses is this:
Ask yourself: What are my favorite brands? Why are they my favorite?
Think about that and then mirror it. Whether the answer is “high quality products” or “responsive customer service” or “ease of use” you can learn a lot of new ways to strengthen your own business by observing your own habits as a consumer.
Great article, Seth! Looking forward to more.
Seth,
Good stuff and I am with you until point 4. Your first three points are specific and objective, your last is not. What’s “right”? You say caring about money is wrong, fine, but who’s the judge of right? I say no one is, because “right” is different for everyone. Maybe a better way to say this is “have guiding principals that go beyond just making money”. Anyway, great article.
Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks for the feedback.. you’re correct, “the right thing” to care about will be different for everyone. To be clearer, I was leaning towards suggesting that brands care about principals that are meaningful and valuable beyond profits. You’re better way to say it works too.
Seth, excellent article. We at CMP are always looking for new ways to engage our clients and provide the best possible service. It’s really about listening and actually caring about your client. I can’t stress that enough – caring is the fundamental principle that drives good service and you can’t write that into any employee handbook. It’s got to be the driving force in the brand’s culture.