Week 4

In the spirit of last week?s rant on customer loyalty, I thought I might share a little story with you. Admittedly, I am a bit ambivalent about the outcome, but I?ll indulge you nevertheless.

There are only a few select products I am loyal to. If you can relate, my guess is that your purchase behavior is also primarily motivated by price?that is, the lowest one we can possibly get for an item. But, those few exceptions?where price is of no consequence?have well-earned their ranking on my ?exclusive? loyalty list because they either sell a product that I need and its benefits re unmatched by no other, or they meet a basic need, but truly make a concerted effort to keep my business. A brand I will for now call ?BRAND X? has succeeded greatly with the former, but pales severely in comparison with the latter?it is my shave gel.

Shaving USED to come with a laundry list of problems?irritated skin, nicks, cuts, scrapes?you get the picture. And as you can imagine, for this white-collared, top-button-buttoned, tie-wearing PR guy, these dilemmas have at times caused the embarrassing and unsightly blood-stained collar?until, of course, I discovered BRAND X. Despite the fact that BRAND X cost nearly, and in some cases, double that of its competing shelf mates in the aisle of my local pharmacy, I took a calculated risk. Not devoted to any particular brand at the time, I was still actively searching for a product that would solve the litany of drawbacks (with most shaving products) inherent in this daily chore. Buying into the prestige pricing aspect of the product, I thought to myself, maybe I for once would get what I paid for?and believe it or not, I did.

I?m not yet convinced that products designed to make those unpleasant daily chores less daunting, are entirely successful. Take for example the whole scented garbage bag thing. Okay, so here?s what we?ll do: We?ll manufacture a trash bag with a special, fresh lemony scent to take the ?stink? out of the trash-taker-outers? duty. They?ll yyyeeeaaarrrnnn to take out the trash. They?ll sit idly by and wait for a full bag. They?ll skip work. They abandon their friends. They?ll even throw valuables away just to bring the heap to the brim. Yeah, yeah, that?s what we?ll do! Mmm, I can smell it now?an irresistible whiff of freshly squeezed lemon and four-day-old funk. I hear Kevin Spacey (in American Beauty) whispering his magnificent line gently in my ear, ?SsspecTACularrrrrr??

However, ever since the first use, BRAND X transformed my daily shaving routine from mediocre at best to marvelous. The feel of the virtually translucent, icy blue gel as it touches my skin, fraught with essential oils of tea tree, eucalyptus and spearmint, in addition to the moisturizing elements of Aloe Vera and Vitamin E, is a morning delight when I?m still fighting the desire to slip back under the covers. When the razor begins its work, it?s a smooth ride up and down the meandering curves of my neck, chin and jaw line, never having rhyme or reason to cause injury thanks to BRAND X. Shaving is no less than a tranquil gondola ride through Venice for my razor and me.

That said, and six years of purchases later, I thought to myself (also after taking Brand Management), why hasn?t this brand reached out to me?namely, why haven?t they offered me some sort of discount, promotion or incentive as a gesture of goodwill for my unwavering brand loyalty? So, I wrote to BRAND X.

Again, to protect the company (for now), I?ve changed the address and real life contact with whom I?ve shared correspondence with. To keep this post semi-interesting, I?ve included my initial contact with the company and their response, but note that this took place more than one year ago. There?s more to come, but I?ll try to add a little suspense for now. Enjoy!

January 11, 2007

BRAND X
BRAND X ADDRESS
BRAND X CITY, STATE AND ZIP CODE

To whom it may concern:

I am writing because I find myself in a bit of a pickle?whether to continue loyally consuming your brand of shave gel or switch to a more affordable product.

I have been using your shave gel for nearly six years now. I took a gamble during my first purchase because I had never spent more than three dollars for shaving cream or gel, let alone more than six with your product. After using it, however, I was amazed at its quality and feel on my skin surface when I shaved.

I’ll get to the point: I am fond of your product, but I have never in all this time seen a coupon for it, nor a reduced sale, nor any effort to “give the consumer a break” as a simple reward for their loyalty. As my financial resources find themselves a little scarce these days, I am cutting corners everywhere!

As such, I am kindly requesting a gesture of your appreciation for my loyalty in the way of free product, coupons or discount so I can continue my loyalty to your brand and you can continue reaping the benefits of my business.

I sincerely look forward to your reply.

Best regards,

Jamie J. Pachomski
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Dear Jamie,

Thank you very much for your email. I?m so happy to hear that you are a fan of BRAND X!

We are quite a small company but do try to run price reduction programs with our retail partners regularly. It largely depends on the schedules and requirements of the individual retailers, but I can understand your frustration if you’ve been purchasing BRAND X for years and have never seen one of these promotions when you’re shopping.

I would be happy to send you a $2 coupon for your next purchase. If you can please send me your mailing address I will send it out promptly.

Thanks for supporting BRAND X!

Kind regards,

BRAND X CONTACT, VP of Operations & Finance
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One week later I received my $2 off coupon.

Stay tuned.

-J

P.S. Has one of your favorite brands let you down? Disappointed you? Rubbed you the wrong way? If so, what happened and how did YOU handle it? Did you get what you were looking for? Did you get more? Less?

As professional communicators, we all have a voice and that voice shall be heard. Brands?especially the ones we?re most loyal to?need to embrace and recognize that loyalty is TRULY a priceless commodity. We may be here today, but where will we be tomorrow? The ball?s in your preferred brands of the world court! (Okay, off the soapbox for now).