Online MR Magazine September 2016 | Page 30

THEIDEAOFTRUE LOYALTYISTO CREATE ACONNECTION THAT TRANSCENDSFROM SOLELY TRANSACTIONALTO IDEOLOGICAL. IT’ S HARDTO EXPLAIN: W HILEALLOFMY RATIONALMINDTOLD MEMYNEXTCAR SHOULDBETESLA.

LOYALTYGOES BEYONDA

RATIONAL‘ TITFOR TAT’ EXCHANGE

theNetPromotorScore). Athird growthbeliefistheoneoutlined byByronSharpinhisbook‘ How Brands Grow’, taking penetration as the ultimate indicatoroffuturesuccessand growth. According to Prof. Sharp, brands should always take a brand repertoire reasoning and be focused on geting noticed and being remembered as a prime conditiontoreapthebenefitsof brand loyalty. Make sure your measurementapproachfolows the growth belief you are embracingasabrand.
Doyouneedtozoom inorout?
W hatisthe aggregation level youwanttomeasureloyaltyat? There is a big diference between assessing relational loyalty, takingahelicopterand holistic perspective on the buyer-seler relationship and trtransactionalloyalty, zooming inononespecificelementfrom the broadercustomerjourney and experience. In both cases, clearly consider the role context is playing when measuring. Together with JacobsDouweEgberts( JDE), a multinational tea and cofee company, we recently tested the impact of context in concept validation research anddiscoveredthatdependent on the contextpeople are in, conceptscoresaresignificantly impacted.
W hatrelationship( s) wouldyou liketobuild?
Relationships are multiplex phenomena. Susan Fournier( Journal of Marketing) distinguished no less than fifteen meaningfulrelationship forms such as‘ arranged marriages’,‘ casual friends / buddies’,‘ kinships’ and‘ best friendships’. Together with these relationship forms, she also describes alternative brandrelationshipdevelopment trajectories. Thinkclearlyabout what type of loyalty or relationship you are trying to achieveanddevelopaseparate loyalty strategy for each of them.
W hoareyoutalkingto?
Nayar, former CEO of HCL Technologies and author of’ Employees first, customers second‘, valuestheopinionsof employees above those of customers. By puting employeesatthe heartofhis company about10 yearsago, he turned itinto one ofthe fastest-growing technology companies in the world, even during the depths of the economic downturn. Brand loyaltyisindeednotonlyabout the consumer; it also makes sense to include opinions of employees as an important pre-condition for consumer loyalty. By integrating the voicesofemployees, brands canmovefrom beingfocused to becoming obsessed with their everyday performance andexperiences.
Are you bypassing the rationalbrain?
Loyalty goes beyond a rational‘ titfortat’ exchange. Dan Ariely speled it out nicely:“ Ownership is not limitedtomaterialthings(…) Oncewetakeownershipofan idea(…) we have trouble leletingitgobecausewecan’ t standtheideaofitsloss.” The idea of true loyalty is to create a connection that transcends from solely transactionalto ideological. It’ shardtoexplain: whilealof myrationalmindtoldmemy nextcarshould beaTesla, I stilremained loyalto BMW, the brand I have been emotionaly connected with overthelast25years.
Thinkaboutre-inventingyour brand-tracking KPIs, moving away from brand-centric ones such as brand consideration towards consumer-centric and more emotional ones like brand ididentificationasdescribedin detailinourbook‘ How Cool BrandsStayHot’.
Is whatyou are measuring outputorinput?
Strong and long-term relationshipsarebased ona vicious circle ofexchanging customer information for customervalue, driving rich customerinsights, improving profitability and increasing