By Clay Deal, Integrated Marketing Specialist at Xapsis Integrated Marketing
I, Clay, take you,
Apple Inc., to be my lawful wedded…Brand?
Believe it or not, or in some cases, like it or not,
consumers form relationships with brands.
It’s true. I am currently
involved in a courtship with Apple through my MacBook at work. How, you ask?
It’s really very simple. I was handed a
MacBook Pro, and told, “Here is your new computer!” At that time, it felt very
much like an arranged marriage instead of a courtship. We didn’t know each other;
we had never really even been introduced. But here we were joined together,
neither one of us having a say in the matter. “Clay here’s MacBook. MacBook
this is Clay. You two go enjoy your
lives together.”
Much akin to a first date, or a courtship, I was
apprehensive about going out with Apple.
I had never used an Apple product before, I always used PCs or Android
based devices. I was nervous, shy, even
a bit scared. Slowly, after a few dates,
I began to warm up to Apple. I guess you
could say we are going steady at this point.
I think about the future with Apple every once in a while. iPhone 5 crosses my mind sometimes, or iPad 3
will pop up in my dreams. Am I ready to
make that type of commitment to Apple?
I’m just not sure Apple and I are ready for marriage yet. Our
relationship is still so young….
OK, so the above is a bit exaggerated, but the principle is
true. Consumers form bonds and relationships with brands, more so than they do
individual products. As a business, you
want to strive for that marriage relationship.
A marriage relationship between an individual and a brand is much like
one between two adults. It is a long
lasting, mutual relationship that involves trust and commitment. A marriage relationship between a brand and a
consumer is the ultimate goal for firms. This means repeat business, this means
forgiveness for an accidental hiccup in quality, this means referrals to other
possible consumers, to get down to it, this means profit.
This brand/consumer relationship must be nurtured. It cannot be a simple give-take relationship
(you give them product, and you take their money). Brands must be open to communication with
consumers; otherwise, a brand will find itself in divorce court.
Brand performance has a great deal to do with establishing
these healthy brand relationships; the products produced must perform as
advertised. Additionally, how these
brands are advertised play an extremely important part to the relationship. What
thoughts and feelings does your brand evoke in its current marketing measures? How
have you positioned your brand in the market versus competing firms? Does your
firm give the message of being a “fling”, high short-term rewards, but low
commitment and little future promise?
What can you do to help get more “marriage” relationships with your
clients? Easy… contact your New Media Marriage Councilors. Contact Xapsis.
*Research and information on brand relationships can be
found in the following source:
Fournier, Susan (1998), “Consumers
and Their Brands: Developing
Relationship Theory in Consumer
Research,” Journal of Consumer
Research, 24 (March), 343–73.
