Creating A Habit Forming Brand

Paul FriederichsenNovember 25, 20163 min

In the ideal world of a marketer success is never in doubt and every brand becomes habit-forming. But that’s not reality and not all brands can become a habit of course.

For example, brands that are not purchased with great frequency, such as flooring or major appliances can cultivate brand loyalty with trade partners through promotions or with consumers through brand marketing, but not necessarily via a “brand habit.” Think of habitual purchase behavior as a step beyond brand loyalty to brand insistence. As a result, the consumer requires no additional conscious motivation or justification to purchase … just the ready availability and consistent delivery of the brand. In essence, the brand is a part of the consumer’s life and its absence would be impactful.

There is a simple truth that governs brand habits; brands must behave a certain way to have their customers behave a certain way. We call this brand behavior being “customer centric.” Brands that are intentionally customer centric, provided that their purchase likelihood is sufficiently frequent, are more likely to become habit forming with their customers than those that are not customer centric.

A prime example that most everyone can relate to is Starbucks. Beyond their product offerings it also intentionally delivers a customer centric experience. Baristas are trained and encouraged to know their regulars by name, greet them accordingly and remember their drink – even engage in light conversation during the visit. Repeating this personal affirmation, over time, ingrains in its customers the Starbucks habit for its “third place” culture. The brand promise of being that coveted third place (a respite between home and work) is the foundation, but delivering it consistently is the framework for long term habit formation.

Other brands that continue to demonstrate superior customer centricity in their categories are Southwest Airlines, Wegmans supermarkets, and Google, to name a few. Their selection, purchase intent and use becomes second nature simply because time and again they deliver a superior customer centric experience.

In the case of Wegmans based in Rochester, New York, superior habit-forming customer service is actually inculcated by an amazing employee relationship experience, built on the belief that happy employees makes for service that makes happy customers. It’s a culture where employees are number one. And it works.

Broken Brand Promises = Broken Brand Habits

But just as easily as habit-forming brands come to mind, so too do brands that have jolted customers out of their brand habits by stumbling into company first policies. You can probably name some of those from your own disappointing experience. These are brands that have excelled and succeeded, but through internal changes (usually bottom line-related), sometimes seemingly small but nevertheless important examples of their customer centricity are sacrificed in the name of improving profits. All too often, these sacrifices provide short term gains for shareholders but eventually degrade the reputation that made the brand successful and profitable in the first place.

Examples of brand habit killers are diminished customer greeting and service routines at retail due to staff and training cutbacks, creating an overly zealous sales incentive atmosphere that drives customers off, or “shrinkflation” practices, such as whittling down portion sizes of candy bars or bread sticks. All these will likely save money, but all will assuredly kill a good brand habit.

Interestingly, Starbucks offers another example here, this time as a habit killer. In 2000 its founder Howard Schulz stepped down and handed the reigns to former CFO Orin Smith who moved the brand away from its core values along with Jim Donald who succeeded him in 2005. The essence of the brand, rewarding everyday moments was pushed aside with the decisions to remove soft seating, dramatically increase prices and raid the third place experience of customer touchpoints that did not align with the new approach to profits.

Consumer reaction was harsh and with the company’s share price plummeting nearly 48 percent, the imminent closure of hundreds of stores and a once-incredibly dominant position in the coffee marketplace in jeopardy, Howard Schulz returned in 2008 to restore the success of the brand.

Marketers are reminded that what goes up can come down and brands must balance the needs of shareholder return through maximizing profitability while maintaining the quality and quantity of product and service offerings that endear their brands to a habitual consumer.

What can you do to create a habit forming brand?

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One comment

  • Mark Armstrong

    November 27, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    We had a J.J. Newberry’s in our little town when I was a kid. My siblings and I spent many a dime and quarter in the candy department, buying a quarter-pound of this and that. When Mrs. Smith was on duty, you could expect a big smile, her full and respectful attention, infinite patience, and always a little extra. She was known in our family as “The Good Lady,” and she is still spoken of with joy and enormous affection and gratitude. The term “customer centric” was unknown back then. “The Good Lady” was all that and more.

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