Fans drive a brands success

Mario Vellandi wrote an excellent article about a book by Kate Newlin called Passion Brands.

It sounds like a must read.

One of Kate’s definitions of a Passion Brand is:

"A product that creates such personal enthusiasm that purchasers badge themselves with it through conversation, apparel, continuous repeat purchase."

These are what I refer to as FANS on the path to advocacy.

Marino does a great job apprising the 7 drivers of Passion Brands.

Here they are:

1. Adopt and Promote a Shared Worldview...a brand identity based on a worldview, rather than a demographic, will attract a larger and more culturally diverse customer base.
2. Use Design as a Differentiator and Lovemark..think Apple, Porsche, and Flip video cameras
3. Hire Passionate Employees...are more likely to positively talk about their work and affiliated brands with other people including family, friends, and the growing circle of online acquaintances.
4. Engage Customers and Become More Personal..understand how ineffective advertising has become.. most brands have to become a little more humanistic and/or personal in all touchpoints to stand out. [and drive advocacy]
5. Democratize the Brand...allowing folks to customizing the product/service.
6. Use Backstories and Arcs.. stories describe how such excellence came to be.
7. Brand the Buzz... stimulates word-of-mouth and sales.

Powerful stuff.

If a brand can create consumers like these it is going to win.

In my view a key is to deliver brand experiences that are personal. The best deliver meaningful emotion through the use of human contact. Get this right and you’ll build a sustainable competitive advantage that is hard to copy.

Tesco badge improved my buying brand experience

I shop in Tesco’s occasionally.

I am not a fan but it is convenient, and their range and prices are okay.

I recently noticed that their staff are wearing badges showing their names, roles and the year they ‘joined the team.’

I liked it.

It made me smile.

It’s a subtle thing but I think it makes my relationship with the staff a little bit more human. I think that makes me a little more likely to become a fan..the last step on path to advocacy.

Branded retailers should spend more time looking at how to make the buying brand experience a little more human, rather than install more of those dam self-service machines.

This sort of idea it isn’t complicated but can make a difference.

British Airways is a great airline but I wish they could add some magic to the brand experience

British Airways (BA) are our national carrier so an easy target for negative media stories. They are not alone. Even Virgin get it wrong [see previous post]

I am a regular business traveller and I think that, to be honest, they deliver pretty good brand experiences. 

So, how does BA perform on the Brand Experience Promise, Deliver and Deliver framework?

They promise and generally deliver a pleasant, safe and reliable service. I’m writing this blog from the JFK in New York. I fly home on the red-eye tonight and (God willing) will arrive home safely and on time.

Do they deliver brand experiences that delight?

I am loyal to British Airways and am pleased to be traveling with them. I’m in the executive lounge so have access to good food, drink and a nice shower. I am on-line thanks to their wireless network which is free. The air stewards should be polite and I hope to enjoy a recent film then catch a little sleep. 

Do I think they will do anything that will delight me in such a way that I go wow..that was a great brand experience? I suspect probably not. 

Should British Airways be trying to find ways to delight me? Absolutely. 

It’s tough, but if they could do something a bit magical I would probably move from being more than a loyal traveller by becoming a fan, and possibly even an advocate. 

If BA could delight more customers with great brand experiences they would turn more customers into advocates. This should help them achieve higher levels of business success that marketing alone could never deliver.

O2 success demonstrates why brands should focus on delivering brand experiences that delight customers

There is an excellent case study (IPA Effectiveness award) about how O2 changed the game in the UK mobile category by shifting their business focus from acquisition to retention.

At the time all nine UK brands concentrated their marketing budgets and efforts on trying to sign-up more and more customers - through heavy weight media advertising deals, deals, deals...

This was creating customer dissatisfaction, high levels of churn and an erosion of customer loyalty.

O2 decided it was time for change.

They started to put the customer at the centre of everything they did by delivering brand experiences that would delight customers. This included:

•  Offering deals to existing customers only
  
• Rewarding existing customers
  
• Hiring extra staff to ensure their customer service improved
  
• Changing their communications to highlight their new commitment to existing customers.
  

At the time this was a bold step but the results were impressive. New customers increased, churn declined and satisfaction ratings improved. The other key metric - average revenue per customer - also held steady.

Today O2 goes from strength to strength as they continue to find ways to delight customers with better and better brand experiences. I think their recent sponsorship of the O2 dome, and the Blueroom and priority tickets for shows is brilliant.

Other categories could learn from this.

I recommend getting key stakeholders in the brand organisation together to collaborate and find ways to genuinely deliver brand experiences that delight customers. If you get it right – like O2 – customers will become fans, and hopefully advocates.

It is a straightforward formula. More brands should try it. 

HMVs purchase of 11 music venues is a game changing move

HMV - a leading record store in UK - has very cleverly transformed its business model and potential fortunes overnight.

The world knows that the record business is in long term terminal decline given that digital, file sharing, etc, has changed people’s music buying behaviours forever.

HMV have moved into the live music business through the purchase of 11 live music venues.

This is a perfect business fit for them, as summed up by their CEO when he said:

‘The deal was far more than a rebranding exercise of some of the venues. Music is very much part of our DNA, and by extending the HMV brand into the growing live music and entertainment market our customers will, as never before, be able to access and experience music in all of its forms via HMV"

Put yourself in the mind of the consumer and compare these two different types of experiences.

In a store you are wandering around, looking at stuff, maybe thinking about the pleasure you'll get when you play what you buy for the first time. There may be some pain at the check out [cost, time, rude staff, whatever] but basically it's an okay brand experience.





In a gig you are with yor mates, the band is great, the music is loud, you're having a fantastic night out. What a great brand experience.





By moving into live music business HMV has, at the stroke of a pen, opened-up massive and extremely relevant brand exprience opportunity that should transform how consumers' feel about them. Not to mention the interesting merchandising, cross promotion, loyalty initiatives (tickets to gigs), etc, opportunities.

All this should help drive HMV music buyers through the path to advocacy to become fans and advocates.

Like the O2’s success with the Docklands Dome, I think this link is inspired.