What will everyone remember about their life in their last days? Is it their memories and experiences that they formed with their loved ones, or is it the products and goods they own and earned? Most people would say that the memories and experiences that we create throughout our lives are what sticks with us the most. That is exactly the philosophy behind the idea of investing in experiences, not products. At our core, we care about our personal attachments and emotions. That is why people are so loyal to certain brands they grew up with. They’ve had countless experiences and memories with that brand, so it is only natural that they remain loyal and continue to purchase that brand. No one truly has loyalty to a product alone, because eventually a better, faster, stronger, or cheaper product will hit the market and steal market share. The experiences and connections people form with brands and products are the true drivers of brand loyalty. You don’t remember that bed and breakfast you stayed in last summer or the RV rental in Calgary that you used because they offered superior products, but rather because they helped you create memories and experiences that will last a lifetime. Creating a personal connection and developing an experience is the key to not only acquiring new customers, but also to retaining your existing ones.
The Effectiveness of Brand Loyalty
One of the most important parts of maintaining your business is retaining your customers and instilling brand loyalty. You can earn much more money by retaining your customers than you can by acquiring new ones. In fact, focusing on retaining your current customers may be the best way to increase revenue and grow your business. Gaining new customers typically comes with a cost, while retaining customers typically doesn’t. Adequately satisfying your customers is usually enough to establish some semblance of brand loyalty. That is why creating a memorable experience that satisfies your customer’s needs in order to retain their business for the future is so much more important than just simply selling a product.
Word of Mouth
Even today one of the best ways to market your product is through word of mouth through your customers. It’s no secret that businesses that are able to create a memorable experience around their product typically satisfy their customers much more frequently. This satisfaction can frequently be passed around with word of mouth and can be used to generate a large amount of leads. Simply just selling a product to a customer won’t impress them at all, however if a memorable experience is created then the chances of the customer telling their friends and family about your product raises.
Become A Part of A Lifestyle
Creating a memorable experience for your customers is one way to integrate your product into their life and become a staple part. Brand loyalty is a powerful thing, and create enough of it and you may just become a staple part of your customer’s lifestyle. Look at major brands such as Coca Cola and Ford, brands that have created memorable experiences and have tons of brand loyalty. These brands have managed to integrate themselves into the American lifestyle and its core values, mostly off the back of their personal connections that they have established with customers.
