Why Are You Loyal
What makes you loyal to a brand? Is there real loyalty anymore? Does perception play a role in your decision making process?
I won’t buy an American made car. Period. Why? A lifetime of bad experiences mostly. I don’t even give them an opportunity to sell to me anymore. Perception.
I’ll only buy Crest Toothpaste. Why? It’s what I was raised on. I won’t switch. I never look at the price, price does not and will never matter to me. Perception?
I only buy Gillette products. Why? Because they are the shaving leader. I buy products that shave my face, presto they work. But I don’t buy the newer products from Gillette, just the good ole Sensor.
I’ll buy gas from any gas station no matter what the brand is.
I don’t drink Starbucks Coffee because it doesn’t taste good to me. And even though they are “cooler” than Dunkin Donuts It doesn’t make the coffee taste any better.
Here’s what I know.
Superior product/service + Brand Promise = Loyalty
I think it can really be broken down that easily. Your product/service has to be able to deliver what you promise. If it does you can capture brand loyalty. But if either are out of whack you’ll have no chance.
What say you kahunas?
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December 9th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Sounds right to me.
My family has a long-standing loyalty to Southwest Airlines. We’ve never had much money, but every summer we’d fly out to Southern California to see my grandmother. Southwest was one of the few airlines we could afford, and they always promised good basic service. No frills, no gimmicks. But they deliver! We’ve never once been bumped from an oversold flight, or lost a piece of luggage, and last I heard they still had one of the best safety records out there.
When I was a little kid, those big golden planes seemed like magic, whisking us away to the bright colors and fun of SoCal. Even now, as an adult, I still get excited when I set foot on the plane. And I’ll fly Southwest as much as I can, because I trust them completely. They make a promise that appeals to me, and they’ve always delivered.
December 9th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Ok Scott – I got a question for you. Since you won’t even give the American automakers a chance, and there are unfortunately many like you, how can they ever recover? Studies have demonstrated that the Big 3 do make cars as well as the Japanese, yet I continue to hear statements like yours. You’re a Big Kahuna – beyond rhetoric, how can the American automakers truly turn it around.
And please don’t say by making good cars or cars people want. They do that now – people like you still aren’t interested.
December 10th, 2008 at 7:39 am
I’m not buying a Malibu, there…I said it.
Cadillac used to be the best luxury car made, now it’s Mercedes, Lexus, BMW and Audi.
Corvette used to be THE sports car. Muscle cars? Seriously…why bring them back?
This guy wrote an interesting article: http://brandinsightblog.com/2008/12/08/marketing-lessons-from-gm-%e2%80%94-will-a-30-billion-bailout-buy-them-some-focus/
But to answer your question it’s really very simple. None of the big 3 have a brand identity. Therefore they will always fail. What does Ford mean to the masses? American made? That shipped sailed in the 80’s.
Mercedes=luxury, BMW=performance. What the heck does GM =?
Here’s another good take: http://dimbulb.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/ford-innovates.html
I’ll buy an American made car when they make one I want. But they seem to try and be everything to everyone. So I don’t want one. Which is why I bought my wife a Mini. Tell me, what’s the big 3’s version of a Mini? Do any of them have a car so entrentched in a brand identity like the Mini?
February 19th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Steven, I’ll suggest that the problem with at least Chrysler is the dealer service. I believe Chrysler to have some the best “looking” cars out there but my experience with our local dealers will never have me back. I drive a Honda (made in the States). I had a Chrysler from ‘89 – ‘98. In that time I experienced some of the most appalling service you can imagine.
A few times I brought the vehicle in for service only to have them either break something else during the repair, or replace the part with the wrong color. I even had one service manager tell me that they lost my car. They “assumed” I picked it up. (they eventually found in in the back 40.
All this, and I live in a city that the Big 3 has plants in. They build the minivan here. It’s the service, plain and simple. Since going to Honda, I have NEVER had a compliant. My Accord is now eleven years old, runs like the day I brought it home, no rust, great shape and 355,000 kms.
I wish Honda made the Solstice. That car makes my mouth water, but I’m nervous of the service. The Big 3 all come from the same culture. So from a brand perspective, they are lacking for me.