Over the years, we have followed shifting customer values that help to differentiate brands.
As we follow these developing trends we often gain clarity in interesting areas.  Clarity in the past couple of years came in a better understanding of certain segments of customer loyalty.
We have watched loyal customers for some time and have a good understanding of their make up.  But within these loyal customers, there are some that stand out.  These “raving loyalists” go beyond loyalty, they are willing to defend and represent our brand.  They are somewhat more engaged than those defined by the NPS methodology as “promoters.”   The raving loyalists feel a personal and emotional bond with the brand which causes them to not only recommend but defend and represent the brand.  Think of hard core Apple users; it would be an understatement to say “hardcore Apple customers have a strong willingness to recommend.”  Their bond to the brand is clearly more emotional than that.

Raving loyalists are not only important because they are loyal and drive additional business, but are also part of the “innovators” and “early adopter” set in the market.  It is they, who control access to the mainstream market (see the Law of Diffussion of Innovation – beautifully explained by Simon Sinek here).

In looking at these raving loyalists we find they have the following characteristics:

1. Raving loyalists believe they perceive the company’s purpose or mission (It doesn’t matter if they are right or not.  In this case perception is reality.)
2. Based on their consistent experience with a company or brand, a raving loyalist perceives the company or brand to be authentic to its purpose or mission.  Simply put, the customer thinks the company walks the talk.
3. The raving loyalist perceives an alignment between the company’s values (the source of the authenticity) and their own personal values.

When they see this alignment of values, the customer feels personally represented by the company or brand. In turn, becoming an agent of the brand that represents him or her.  This turns into an emotional bond of reciprocal kinship.

We see these types of relationships between fans and sports teams, within certain ethnic or socio-economic strata, in nationalism and regionalism, religious groups, and more specifically to our discussion, between customers and certain brands such as Harley Davidson, Apple and Corvette among many.

So, the raving loyalist who will promote, defend and represent your brand has only two overriding requirements.  They must perceive authenticity in your brand and they must feel the brand is aligned with their own core values.

Here then, are the obvious questions:

1. Do we understand our customer’s values?
2. Is our mission or purpose aligned with them?
3. Are our customer experiences across the company demonstrating consistent authenticity?

If the answer to any of these is no, raving loyalty is not possible and we have lost major ground in the battle for differentiation.

Our deepest quest as marketers and brand strategists must be authenticity.
However, authenticity is not found in an advertisement or in engaging creative production.  Authenticity is found in the operations of the company as it relates to a higher overriding purpose.  It is found in a company’s policies, processes and delivery mechanisms as experienced by the customer.

Without authenticity we cannot create deep rooted loyalty with our customers.

Rudy Vidal
Committed to XCL

There was a time when having consistently satisfied customers kept us ahead of the competition.  Those were the days when the differentiating power in the market was in products and services.  Now, as we become more and more accustomed to our EXPERIENCE economy, we begin to accept that the quality of our products and services rarely differentiate our brand.  Quality products and services are now common, expected, minimum business requirements – table stakes.  Brand differentiation and loyalty now come by way of our experience while consuming the product, service or brand.

I often ask in my seminars: “what does Barnes & Nobles sell?”  The reply is usually: “books”.
The truth is that I could do research for my next book at B&N for the next year, using their tables, sitting on their chairs, with clear access to all the books in the store, and never have to buy a book.  If B&N were really selling books, after a couple of days, they would ask me to buy something or leave.  But they don’t.  In fact, they are not selling books at all.  In stead, they are selling experiences and hoping that while we are consuming their experience (nice chairs while we read, a coffee shop, poetry readings, a children’s reading area, etc.) we will see a book we like and buy it.  Statistics show we do.

If we know our customers now value and are willing to pay more for experiences, but we continue to offer them marginally differentiated products, we should not act surprised when they ask us for a lower price.  Over 50% of the CEOs I speak with, actually believe customers DEMAND lower prices.  In most cases these CEOs are the source of unnecessary commoditization and failing businesses.   If we offer someone what they no longer value why would we expect them to pay a premium?  As long as we continue to try to differentiate our brands by the feature/price ratios,  we will always be “me too” brands.

Let’s get to know our customers and their values more intimately.  Then let’s create experiences for them that result in emotional bonds with our brand.  I know the temptation to simply lower the price is great since no one ever says no to a lower price,  but I also know if we are willing to think about our customers, talk to them, ask probing questions with humility and a sense of service, we can get to understand their values, those things that really matter to them; those things that will engage them emotionally and make them loyal.

Aligning our companies to our customers’ values is the only way we can gain sustainable differentiation in a commoditized market.
Alignments require the management of only a couple of key components: Customer Values, Corporate Purpose and Corporate Goals.  Align these three and magic will happen.

Customer loyalty is never an accident.

Rudy Vidal
Committed to XCL

In today’s commoditized markets customer loyalty is the result of consistency in customer experiences across an entire organization, from shipping and receiving to accounts payable.  Such consistency across divisional lines can not be managed effectively without considering culture.  For this reason, the topic of customer centric cultures seems to arise more and more in customer loyalty discussions.

The right culture holds the company together, committed to a common, high level purpose that inspires a certain “way of being”.  Management’s ability to effectively communicate this higher purpose and to show authenticity to it, determines the degree of cultural adoption and level of sustainability.

Clarity in communication of the higher purpose is helped greatly by a well thought out, well written statement of purpose (vision and/or mission type statements.)

There are some in management who strongly oppose the use of such statements, thinking of them as meaningless words no one ever reads.  I disagree.  An effective statement of purpose, when used and supported by authenticity in our management intentions, beliefs and behaviors can become a source of inspiration, employee cohesiveness, and clarity amidst the din of day to day business.

Below is an example of a mission statement we worked on a few years ago (shown with permission.)

MISSION
We believe an individual’s health is more important than money.
We are committed to providing optimum family healthcare where the best interest of the patient is the only consideration.
No patient will ever be turned away for the inability to pay.

- They are concise and easy to digest.
- It gives a sense of what the company does.
- It makes me want to join the club (as an employee and as a customer.)
- It provides an idea of why the company might feel this way.
- It tends to inspire others to follow suit.
- It can provide the basis for day to day decision making.
- It compels us to make more and more decisions at the customer level.

An aligned culture is the result of general employee engagement to a common purpose.

How we make that purpose clear to the organization is up to us.  Good statements of purpose are an important part of a culture management communications plan.

Rudy Vidal
Committed to XCL

This past week I had the privilege of speaking with friends at CLG Consulting, the leading firm and true masters in creating positive business change through behavioral management.  We spoke briefly about the importance leadership behavior in bringing out the greatness in employees and thereby in our organizations.

We know that leadership is important, but what is the difference between good and great leadership?

• Great leader facilitate the behaviors necessary to reach our goals.
• Great leaders create clarity of purpose.
• Great leaders keeps us aligned to the purpose and the customer values.
• Great leaders encourage behaviors that drives success while discouraging behaviors that get in the way of our success.
• Great leaders urge us to believe in ourselves and the value we bring.
• Great Leaders empower, guide and get out of the way of our individual and collective magic.

As I thought about these traits I was reminded of a video that showed so many of the characteristic and results of great leadership, in action.
Please Note: you will need audio turned up to hear the audience participation.

Take a look:

Are we striving to create clarity and cohesiveness?  Are we facilitating the right behaviors?

Great Leaders can make things happen that we never thought were possible.

Rudy Vidal
Committed to XCL