Maybe it’s because I was the first to marry amongst my friends (going on 18 years!), but somehow I became the person everyone turned to when dealing with relationship drama over the ages.
Among all the devastation and triumphs, I’ve noticed 3 similarities between thriving romantic relationships and those between your brand and audience.
01 Keep the Romance Alive
It’s common for familiarity to slowly replace the excitement of a new fling. But some customers don’t need to be bored to keep their options open.
According to a McKinsey study on Gen Z:
“62 percent are checking out other options, even if they have a favorite brand. And among those with a favorite brand, more than 50 percent of Gen Zers would switch it up if another brand were cheaper or of higher quality.”
Wow. Ouch.
Relationship Advice:
Keep Things Interesting with Customer Desires
More than just sales and social impressions. Finding out the details aligned with your mission that evoke passion and reaction in your audience.
As McKinsey puts it:
”Don’t underestimate the importance of the flex: can you offer your Gen Z customers a product or service or experience they can’t get from your competitors—something that they can then show off to their friends?”
One method recommended by Virginia’s Loyalty Science Lab is to become a channel of their self-expression. Empower your audiences to create and express themselves through your brand.
Brand Tools to Use:
Audience Profile Suite Understand what matters most to your audience on a human level.
02 Flowers and Promises Don’t Fix Fights
No amount of flattery can repair a relationship when trust is broken. Your relationship with customers is the same.
Increasingly, your brand is given no second chances if a customer has a bad experience. Even if they contact you for a resolution.
According to Harvard Business Review:
“Customers are 4x more likely to leave a [customer service] interaction disloyal than loyal.”
And they’re actively warning their friends and followers.
McKinsey's study explains:
“[De-influencing] is the trend where both influencers and regular shoppers alike post videos on social media urging others not to buy products that have disappointed them in some way.”
Relationship Advice:
Real Commitment Always Wins
Being a dependable rock, not matter how small, is much more important than any hollow grand gesture. Get curious about the underlying problem your customers come to you for, and then make it easy as possible to solve it.
According to Harvard Business Review:
“Loyalty has a lot more to do with how well companies deliver on their basic, even plain-vanilla promises than on how dazzling the service experience might be.”
A history of positive experiences can outweigh a small, rare slip-up. Virginia’s Loyalty Science Lab identifies heritage as a powerful way for customers to love certain brands.
Earning a reputation that lasts generations is a long game, but also an achievable accomplishment if you deliver what you promise.
Brand Tools to Use:
Customer Journey Strengthen key milestones that are most important during your customer's experience.
03
Learning How to Communicate is Vital
Not all communicating is the same. Repeatedly hounding a partner about their dirty clothes on the floor doesn't make them want them in the hamper. Sometimes a different approach is needed to reach them, like a quick reminder before bed as they're changing into pj's.
Everyone has a communication style. And marketing usually tries to cover them all. All the time.
And Gen Z consumers feel smothered and stalked.
According to McKinsey's study:
“… Luddite teens, who have grown sick of always-on tech, might one day abandon a brand if the constant stream of notifications and nudges gets to be too much.”
Relationship Advice:
Show Up Real Instead of Really Clingy
Why does your audience use one social platform over another? There’s a reason they’re there.
Really knowing your customers is more important than ever to reach them. Instead of blanket posts of the same message across all channels, brands will need to meet customers wherever they are and show up appropriately for that world.
Virginia’s Loyalty Science Lab also encourages brands to build a sense of community. With others talking you up when you’re not in the room, there’s room to adjust marketing frequency to your audience’s preferences and avoid pestering.
Brand Tools to Use:
Brand Writing Suite Adapt to any situation with guidelines for on-brand copywriting.
check out the sources:
Why Loyalty Programs Fail, Virginia Loyalty Science Lab https://hbr.org/2024/09/why-loyalty-programs-fail
Mind the Gap: Loyal Z: Why Gen Z Customers Won't Be Tied Down, McKinsey https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2023/04/2023-04-04b.html
Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers, Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2010/07/stop-trying-to-delight-your-customers