The branded vs. private label product debates of late had got me thinking about brand loyalty recently and then I came across a great post by a former colleague, David Murphy (David and I worked together when I headed up Brand & Strategy for Sony Electronics and David was the president of Y&R Irvine — he’s now got his own shop Barrie D’Rozario Murphy, the agency behind the new United Airlines work.)

David’s post turned the concept of brand loyalty on its head, asking, “Want brand loyalty?  Be loyal to customers.”  What a provocative concept!  Many companies have programs to foster customers’ loyalty to them, but what about actively fostering our own company’s loyalty to our customers?!

David goes on to applaud United’s Mileage Plus program for demonstrating loyalty to frequent flyers by fast tracking them through check-in and security lines and waiving baggage fees.  I don’t share David’s enthusiasm for  frequent flyer programs (perhaps because those Platinum handcuffs haven’t done much for me lately), but I do think we can look at customer loyalty programs and by doing a 180 on them, we can identify ways to be more loyal to our customers.

If we expect our customers to:

• go out of their way to buy from us
• pay more for what we offer, and
• continue choosing us even when faced with tempting offers from the competition

then perhaps we need to:

• go out of our way to do things for our customers — some ideas:

providing our services after hours so that we’re available whenever our customers need us

instituting “power hours” like Home Depot is now doing during which employees do nothing else (like stocking shelves or cleaning) besides serving customers

offering to hand-deliver or at least overnight ship products that are out of stock at no cost (notice I didn’t say no “additional” cost — that’s right, if we don’t have the product a customer wants, maybe we should give it to them for free as soon as it arrives in an attempt to make up for the inconvenience?)

• “pay” more for our customers — some ideas:

providing personalized service through a designated sales rep who knows me, helps me make better purchases, and customizes the products to my taste

comping “value-added” services — e.g., my car repair shop always does a 10-point inspection and a free car wash whenever they work on my car

biting the bullet and not increasing prices when our costs increase

• continue serving existing customers well even as we seek to acquire new customers – some ideas:
  

offering equivalent or better deals than the ones we run to promote trial by new customers

acknowledging and thanking them for their continued patronage (yes, I literally mean saying “thank you”)

doing follow-up’s on their purchases to ensure they’re satisfied with them

I realize we can’t do all of these things or do them for every customer, but I do think we should consider how we can demonstrate our loyalty to our most important customers (not always the most profitable or the highest sales drivers, mind you) .

Let’s make “customer relationship management” a two-way relationship — after all, mutual loyalty is what makes personal relationships so rewarding — a brand’s relationships with its customers should be no different!

(P.S. I found the image above on “Sonnie’s Porch — therefore, I’m noting that it’s  reprinted with permission from http://sesantos.com.ph © Copyright 2005-2009 by Sonnie Santos — however if this attribution is not correct, please let me know and I will fix it.)

Today we come to the end of the “5 Brands We Would Miss” series.  Throughout the week we’ve looked at some of the brands on 24/7 Wall’s list of “Twelve Major Brands That Will Disappear,” exploring what we would miss if they went away. 

Monday covered Budget, Tuesday Saturn, Wednesday Crocs, and yesterday Palm.  I had a hard time deciding which of the remaining brands on 24/7 Wall’s list should make this last entry.  There’s Old Navy with its quirky brand personality and product assortment, Esquire magazine which fueled the metrosexual movement, and Chrysler a brand with such a rich history.  But in the end, I decided I would miss Eddie Bauer the most.

Yes, Eddie Bauer now seems like just a run-of-the-mill apparel brand with unexceptional stores and merchandise — but it wasn’t always this way.

The company was  founded by Eddie Bauer — a real person, actually a real outdoorsman–  in 1920 (that’s before REI, 1930′s; and Patagonia, 1950′s.)  He invented the down jacket which got patented in 1940.  Back then, Eddie Bauer was a true outdoor brand, outfitting the expedition in which Jim Whittaker became the first American to summit Everest.

Then the company lost its way, as it was bought and sold a couple of times.  As Eddie Bauer CEO Neil Fiske explained, “Just as much as we’ve lost the identity of the Eddie Bauer brand, we’ve really lost the identity of the Eddie Bauer guy. The Eddie Bauer guy was an adventurer, he’s an outdoor guy, rugged, and over that period…the brand just became more and more women-focused and walked away from the men’s business, the gear business. It became a less interesting brand for men.”

The company is now back on track – with a new management team, new merchandising strategy, and a renewed focus on the brand’s heritage and credentials as an outdoor outfitter.  With such an authentic platform and with demographic/lifestyle trends working in its favor, I believe a relaunch of the brand would be a success.

But the brand may go out of business before year-end, as 24/7 Wall predicts — and we will miss out on what could be the revival of a great brand.  Am I right to be bullish about Eddie Bauer or just a sucker for a good brand story?  Please use the comments to let me know whether or not you’d miss the brand and why.

And while you’re at it, let me know whether or not you’d miss any of the other brands from the 24/7 Wall list (the ones in bold are the ones I’ve suggest we would miss the most.)

1. Budget
2. Borders
3. Crocs
4. Saturn
5. Esquire Magazine
6. Old Navy
7. Architectural Digest Magazine
8. Chrysler
9. Eddie Bauer
10. Palm
11. AIG
12. United Airlines (or US Air or American Airlines)

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Thanks for participating the series!

Rarely does Ben Stein write something that I don’t agree with and really appreciate — his column in this past Sunday’s NY Times is no exception.  The piece, Don’t Blame the Business Trip, is a much-needed counterpoint to the criticism that business travel has garnered in recent months.

Ben explains, “The personal touch, the sharing of facts and secrets face to face, are important.“  Although the court of public opinion may judge business meetings as an extravagance, those of us who make it a priority to meet with our customers and colleagues in person know personal meetings are critical.  Companies should not let bitter, snarky armchair judges dictate travel policy.

Remember the 1989 United Airlines ad which starts off with a boss announcing to his staff that they have just lost a major long-time client, “He said he didn’t know us anymore“?

The ad’s closing line says it all, “If you’re the kind of business that believes personal service beats lip service…“