Customer Experience: the only path to brand loyalty
Advertising can build brand awareness, but it won't buy customer loyalty. The true strength of the world's most respected brands is a consistent customer experience — from the promise made in the campaign, through the product, to the after-sales service. Find out why brand management is customer experience management and what you can do to keep your brand promise from falling into reality.
What companies come to mind when you think of the most respected brands in the world? How do you think these companies became the most respected brands? If you answered “marketing” or “advertising”, you are only partially right. The full answer is “customer experience”. A brand can be seen as an “identity or image that is considered an asset”. In some cases, the “brand” now suggests values and promises that the consumer can perceive and buy. When people talk about brand management, I think of going through different phases of brand maturity. Marketing and advertising have an impact on the first two phases when trying to impress buyers. To achieve the third phase, brand loyalty, companies must provide consistently excellent customer service.
Why? One (or more) poor experiences can damage and destroy a brand in the same way that a series of unique experiences can establish and strengthen a brand. No amount of advertising can save a poorly executed experience. When a “bad experience” happens, companies move mountains and spend huge amounts of money to get them back. Even then, much evidence suggests that the act of recovering from setbacks never perpetuates customer loyalty. Companies often stumble when trying to bridge the gap between promise/possibility and reality. As companies create a brand in the market, and as they strive to gain loyalty, they need to make appropriate investments in the customer experience to strengthen the brand. For example:
- Marketing and any advertising must reinforce the promise of the brand.
- Engineering and product management need to develop products that highlight the brand.
- Pre-sales and sales must be sold in a way that strengthens the brand.
- Operations and customer service must deliver brand value.
These elements of providing seamless customer service combine harmoniously, combining opportunities with reality. And yes, in companies with high brand loyalty, brand management is customer experience management. You can't advertise your path to brand loyalty. The turning point is that combining corporate brand promises with corporate capabilities (reality) in a comprehensive customer experience is the only path to brand loyalty.
