December 9, 2011
Several years ago I was involved in an extensive research project exploring the emotional connection consumers have with brands. Not surprisingly, the findings revealed that consumers seek qualities in brands that they also look for in human relationships. Frequently cited were trust, respect, consistency, accessibility and being easy to get along with, among others.
Intrigued by this line of thinking, in one phase of the research we came right out and asked consumers, “which brand would you marry?” Consumers understood and even seemed to enjoy the intent of the question. They were quickly able to name a brand that deeply engaged them and could explain why.
On its face, this seems to confirm the magical properties of certain brands.
But it’s only part of the story.
While consumers told us that they are quicker to forgive “marriage” brands when they stumble, most also point out they are not reluctant to dump a brand when the relationship stops working for them. Even more admitted that they are always on the lookout for something new even when they’re happy with their existing brand relationships.
Netflix recently learned this lesson in a very public fashion. It discovered that customer loyalty is not an inexhaustible resource, but rather something you need to tend to in your day-to-day thinking about the business. The company made a series of decisions which changed the services it offered and had the effect of upseting many customers. Customer concern was amplified by the ways in which the company responded to the criticism.
Such was the affection customers had for the brand that many said they wanted to forgive the company but could not because in the end there was just too much to forgive. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the consumer increasingly saw good alternatives to Netflix services.
The voice of marketing, if not PR, as an advocate for the customer’s “marriage” with the brand seems to have been missing at Netflix, both initially in terms of assessing customer reactions to the planned changes, and later in responding to escalating customer concerns.
It’s a timely reminder that effective marketing is built not just on creating relationships with consumers, but also in carefully tending to those relationships over time. This is such an obvious premise that it seems foolish even to mention it, yet apparently it cannot be stated often enough.
All brands, even the most popular, are always vulnerable, especially today when they face a confident consumer and a continuously changing competive landscape. Clearly, it’s foolish to work hard to engage consumers only to later take those customers for granted. Under the circumstances, divorce should not be a surprise.
It also raises the question, if marketing and PR do not advocate for business decisions within a company that protect and nurture the customer’s “marriage” with the brand, who will?
