When brand loyalty becomes a thing of the past

A recent article in The New Yorker has reminded us of how fragile brands are nowadays. Journalist James Surowiecki starts the article talking about the PR disaster of Lululemon Athletica. Once praised “They’re more than apparel. They’re a life style,” Lululemon Athletica’s reputation went downhill when people found out the quality of their products were not as good as claimed; and the founder, instead of taking on suggestions, criticised customers, saying that they were not fit enough to wear the products.

Of course, you could easily imagine how badly their image was damaged. Sales then dropped and the founder stepped down from management role. And this type of case is not rare. In more than twenty years in the branding business, we have observed and read about these PR disasters over and over again.

So why does it still happen? Surowiecki’s view is that social media makes everything transparent these days, and people can find out almost anything about companies and the people behind them with just a few clicks.

If we look at this issue through the eyes of marketing communications (Push, Pull and Profile strategies), it’s extremely beneficial for any business to be reached proactively by its potential customers. Push (advertising) and Pull (PR) are great, but they can be expensive and without great ROI.

On the other hand, when a company builds up a good Profile strategy (providing rich information about products and service on owned communication channels such as websites and social media), customers can do their own research and choose the products and brands they like. It’s important to keep in mind that no one can censor the internet (NSA excluded of course) and even if you claim that your business is amazing when in fact it’s not, sooner or later customers will find out. And as Surowiecki discussed, brand loyalty pretty much becomes a thing of the past as consumers can simply find better products at any time.

Diving further into the reasons for the downfall of a lot of brands: businesses often focus too much on promoting and simply forget the simple rule that above all they need to have authentically great products and services. And if you ask what is ‘authentically great’, the answer will vary depending on the type of business. If you have a high quality product or service that meets customers’ needs, supported by a strong brand and visual identity, you have already built a sturdy foundation for your success.

Having worked in the branding and design business for more than two decades, we always start by looking at our clients’ products and services and the market they are operating in, including their positioning and any particular niches they may be serving. All of this creates the foundations for the brand strategy which we then bring to life through visual identity, websites, social media management, packaging, and environments.

So what’s the takeaway? Always keep your eye on the essence of your brand and stay true to it.