Linda’s post “The Power of the Brand and Customer Loyalty” indicates how strong Starbuck’s loyal customer base is and how the company turns this into its “shield” to protect itself from the fierce coffee competition.

And no wonder, I really think a loyal customer base can become a company’s competitive advantage.

It’s a surprise that how few companies truly acknowledge, take care of and leverage those loyal customers in a way that measurably accelerates market share and recurring revenue while mitigating competitive risk and reducing sales & marketing costs. (Source)

Loyal customers are good for any organizations or brands – this is no longer a secret. Why? Because loyal customers always return; they brag about your organization/ brand providing “free” word of mouth advertising; they are surprisingly willing to pay more for your products or services; and especially, when there is a mistake, loyal customers are more forgiving than new ones.

Among all benefits above, I want to emphasize “the willingness of loyal customers to pay for a product/ service”. This is something crucial in any harsh competition. For example, let’s talk about coffee-shop industry. While many others try to get into this crazy fight, lower their prices as much as possible to gain little market share, Starbuck still stays on top with surprisingly “expensive” price. I personally love Starbuck, but sometimes with my student budget, I can’t allow myself enjoy a Grande Frappuccino every day. However, Starbuck’s customer base still grows day by day. While others struggle to cut down cost, lower price to attract customers, Starbuck still keeps or even raise prices because it had its fan who are willing to pay that price. The strong customer base is like a Starbuck’s invisible weapon to fight in this competition, which not so many companies can have.

 Obviously, customer loyalty is a very powerful competitive advantage. It’s never too late or too early to build customer loyalty. It is something that can only do good for your brand/ organization.

So how to build and maintain the loyal customer base?

Treat them right – deliver a fantastic product or service – and you can count on their business for life

Be remarkable, and they’ll tell their friends and colleagues about you as well

Earn their trust, and they’ll tell you exactly what they’re seeing in the market – your competitors, new innovations, etc.

Engage them regularly, and they’ll tell you when you’re wrong, when you screw up, and give you time to fix it

Actively listen, react to their feedback, innovate when they ask, and they won’t go anywhere

Create an army of ambassadors, and they’re an extension of your sales force in situations you have zero access to today

Make them your eyes and ears, and they’ll give you the earliest heads-up possible to any competitive threat on the horizon (with enough time to react, adjust, and cut competitors off at the knees before they can get momentum)

Ask them to brainstorm with you, and they’ll give you far better, more creative ideas than you’d ever come up with yourself

Surprise them with your responsiveness, speed and approachability,and they’ll treat you like a loyal friend

(Source)

My mom is becoming a shopaholic and somewhat having the “brand-name obsession”. Last year, I went back my hometown to visit my family and surprisingly, I found a drawer in my mom’s closet which was full of designer handbags.

Sometimes I wonder if those handbags really worth the money? Why do people ever want to pay a huge amount of money for just a handbag which they may use just once in their whole life?

Some people actually argue that all designer bags worth the money. Their prices reflect their quality.

Designer bags are made from the best materials and often boast the softest leather and are lined with the finest silks, this in itself is worth a great deal because these bags are built to last, and not just for this season and the next but often for decades. (source)

 

And sometimes, a designer bag even serves the purpose as an investment.

If you buy the latest must have and enjoy it for a couple of months then put it up for sale, you will be more than surprised to find that you will usually make your money back and sometimes even a profit! (source)

Bright sides of purchasing designer handbags!

But not everyone use ONE designer handbag frequently for years. Only a few times or in a season, then the lovely, expensive bags will probably sit in the closet forever.  And just like my mom, she never has the habit of selling her fashion items. She loves keeping them, probably to make a collection?

The obvious dark side of this? A brand-name obsession!

People purchase and wear them just to show off their wealth or the sophisticated status. Items on their bodies equal how rich they are.

Designer handbags are not always nice and really “high-quality”. But just like Apple’s die-hard fans, fashion brands also have their die-hard fans, who sometimes blindly purchase their products without considering if the products are really nice and fit them.

In my opinion, it’s all about the brand equity. Consumers perceive some benefits they can get from designer handbags (whether they are quality, wealth showing-off, status…). And the price they pay includes the “cost of brand name”.

And do they worth the cash? It’s all up to your own judgment!

 

The rapid growth of mobile devices, especially smart phones, is undeniable. With a “smart” phone in hand and wifi/ 3G/ internet, you can do almost everything in anywhere. As this blog entry mentions, email opens on mobile devices have been steadily growing, and also reach the same proportion as email opens on PC/ laptop.

People now are way easier to access to their emails through tablets and smartphones, then should companies take advantage and use more of email marketing? To make the decision, it’s important for every company to understand the good and the bad of it.

The Good?

Email marketing is definitely cheap and effective (cheaper than direct mailing (flyers), effective in reducing the time to reach out to receivers)

Through email newsletter, companies can promote business by sending out discounts or coupons, keeping present customers informed, sending out surveys without annoying customers in stores while they are shopping…

The Bad?

Who to send to? If the business is new and you don’t have a list of certain consumers whom you want to aim, and instead going to buy email lists, your email advertisement may end up in the spams.

Customers’ side, do they really read it? Even if they are current customers of your companies, they may just throw email promotion into the “trash box”. Sometimes, too many email promotion, advertisements in a week and too much information makes consumers not even bother to read.

I signed up for a lot of membership and receive email promotions almost every week. The one that attracts me the most and never end up in the “trash” box is from Sephora. Why? Because they give me a PERSONALIZED products promotion. They use my profile’s info (when I signed up for the loyalty card) and give me suggestions that fit my need and preference. I think that’s really a good method.

Overall, email marketing can be effective or ineffective. It’s all up to companies how to format and deliver the email marketing to the other end – consumers!

Some tips for Mobile Email Marketing specifically can be find here, quite interesting!