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The Myth of Brand Loyalty Posted: 07 Aug 2009 07:32 PM PDT The picture on the left is my wonderful, shiny 15″ Macbook Pro. I bought it around a month ago. It’s also the umteenth Mac product I’ve owned (not even counting iPods and iPhones) since the early 2000s. I’m marginally annoyed by the email I received from Apple in my inbox tonight. I guess I shouldn’t really care, but it’s one of those things where I feel there’s an opportunity to learn. (Gina: I’m turning the positives around for you!) I want Apple to know that I’m their long-standing and loyal customer. Here’s the ad a bit closer up: So, not only don’t they know I’m reading this ad on a Macbook pro, but they also want to tell me the joys of owning a Mac, the same joys that I’ve experienced for eight or nine years and counting (and to be honest, I had the first ever Mac back in 1984, but I’m not holding a grudge that they don’t count those old ones). What I Want From Brands It’s very simple, I believe. I’m not 100% sure, so maybe you can correct me. I want you to really care about me. I want you to remember me. That second one matters a lot. I want you to remember me, such that when I contact you at your touchpoints, you know how much I’ve done with you. I want you to know not to send me ads for the same laptop I’m using right now. I want you to give me some kind of relationship out of my loyalty such that I either pay less or get more for maintaining the relationship over the years, when you are the premium brand. (Not just you, Apple. This could be written to GM or to Coke or several other brands with which I’ve had a lifelong relationship.) I’m thinking that CRM is supposed to handle this. Companies should know that I’ve purchased their products. There’s SOME kind of key somewhere that ties it all together. Okay, I don’t blame Coke for not knowing much about me, but GM or Apple or places where I spend many thousands of dollars? The only solution I think of in this case is a good simple database with that information widely distributed, and some kind of universal (or maybe opt-in) identity. Who knows? Maybe that’s VRM?

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