Unity, fraternity, loyalty (page 1 of 2)

I'm sure you know the feeling. It's that special warm feeling you get when you're remembered by name, and by your usual purchase, when you enter a store. Well, being remembered is still common today -- on the Web, that is. The personal touch has been transferred to the Web and, sure, the old trick gets some of us. But does it really inspire customer loyalty?

Most likely not. By now, consumers can see the trick for what it is, and the Web's version of the personal touch is not perceived as being very personal at all. Customers no longer feel particularly special just because a site welcomes them back by using their first names.

So, what more can you do to really keep ahead of your competitors? Let me share an anecdote with you.

In outback Australia, I visited a small (and, when I say small, I mean small) town. From a metropolitan person's point of view it looked as if there could be no possible benefit in living in this remote, isolated, and sparsely populated community. Far from the coast and innocent of the seaside scenery urban Australians take for granted, deprived of shopping and entertainment venues, ostensibly devoid of interesting outlooks (both the scenic and imaginative varieties), and far, far away from any other population center, the place seemed to be a hotbed of social malaise.

But, very quickly, it became clear to me the people living in this town were incredibly happy. And they were incredibly happy not because of the town itself, but because of the community that composed it. The atmosphere of support, helpfulness, and neighborly good cheer that prevailed was so positive the happy milieu approached fairytale proportions. In short, I came to the obvious conclusion that social commentators must take as a given: that what makes a city great is its community, its people, and its social cohesion.

So, what has this to do with branding?

I'm sure the justification for my analogy is obvious: I believe the creation of a feeling of community around a brand can make all the difference. Why? Because, it's important to remember, a brand is not a factory creation. It's created in the minds of customers and in the collective mentality of the community of which those customers are part. In e-tailing and branding terms, we're way past automatically generated greetings, behavioral-prediction programs, and automatically generated emails. These techniques hold no persuasive power for the educated customer base. Let's face it. We all take that stuff for granted. But what we don't take for granted are meaningful indications of the presence of real human beings -- true interaction. Gimmicks and tricks just don't cut it. Let me give you an example from my experience as a customer.

I once chose to fly with an airline that was reputedly unique in the facilities it could offer its patrons: fully reclining beds, interactive entertainment systems, and even on-board Internet access. I just had to try that! But, as is so often the case, my preconceptions didn't match the reality. Sure, the airline had all those great electronic features on board, but the personal interaction was nonexistent. Had I not spilled my drink in my seat, I'd have never gotten a smile from any of the flight attendants. On the way back, I chose to fly with another company, a company without all the fancy equipment, but one which rightly boasted of impressive staff courtesy and care.

Which brand do you think I'd choose again? The latter, of course! It happens that since I had these two experiences, almost every European and Asian airline has started offering the fancy technical features provided by the former airline.