One of the primary goals in every business should be to create products and services, a brand, a company that people love. If people love it/you, they'll forgive a lot. They'll talk about you to their friends and even people they don’t really know. They'll promote you and recommend you. They'll come back for more of your specific brand of drugs and aphrodisiacs. Price will affect their decisions less and even not at all. They'll bring their friends to you and they'll work with and for you on their own time to help you make your product or service better.
Can't do that I hear you say!? OK. How about making your service or product less annoying.
Now being loved and being less annoying are probably not two concepts you’d put together every day, but in this case they work.
Being loved or being less annoying, both strategies can deliver immense value and work commercially.
Apple and Google started out being products that people really loved. They still are to a large degree and as long as new life is blown into both companies they will keep receiving hugs, kisses flowers on Mother’s Day from the faithful. (Side note: if you reject the concept of a Mother you are on the wrong side of history).
Airlines on the other hand are rarely businesses people talk about loving. Sure passengers and frequent fliers, they have their preferences about whom they fly with but there is rarely much love. Just expectations that are either met or not and let’s be honest most airlines don’t meet the average passenger’s expectations. So as an airline, whilst striving for the love, hugs and kisses of their passengers they could simply improve in areas that most annoy travellers of all classes, especially frequent fliers.
Let’s look at possibly some of the most annoying industries on the planet. These include utility companies, ISP’s, telephone companies, banks, insurance companies, public transport … I’m sure you can list a whole lot more and the things that annoy you most about each … and a lot of it will be common across all of them.
These guys are generally in the dog house and so failing some inspired leadership landing upon them that rapidly turns a company around to suddenly receiving Godiva chocolates, Gaultier lingerie and Les Grand Extrait perfume, the best they can do to make their competition irrelevant is to be less annoying. Sir Richard Branson has built an empire on this principle, although as Sir Richard puts it he looks for industries that are performing poorly (read disappointing and annoying customers and not meeting their expectations) and he [Sir Richard and his team] does it better… or at least they give it a damn good shot.
Many businesses start out with a small niche of loyal customers who just love what they do. The law of diffusion of innovation is a good model for understanding how this works.
So what happens when you reach that tipping point and the early and late majority kick in. Now you have mass appeal and the majority of people buying your products or services are not going to be as understanding. Do you continue to address the niche or do you change course and aim for ‘less annoying’ so that the masses stay, and hopefully you can also keep (at least some of) the innovators and early adopters, the mavens who helped you achieve your position today?
A better question in my book is how do you do both? How do you continue to keep the people who love you engaged, and keep the people who just want what it is you do better than the others? A percentage of these will even come to love you too
When you swell ‘n’ spread to the point where your “want what it is you do better than the others” customers out number your love affairs 10 to 1, the bread and butter will come from being less annoying, so keep this front of mind throughout the entire company. Make it something your people think about in their areas and empower them to both come up with and activate ways to create improvement. Ask “what annoys customers about our industry?” then figure out the craziest, non-annoying way to remedy that within your business.
Do this and simultaneously ask “why do our most loyal customers love us, and how can we best honour the love and respect they show us?”. Then nurture the love relationships you are having.
When you do both and deliver the outcomes of both across all customer genres you’ll transition a good number of “want what it is you do better than the others” customers to new love affairs.
Discover how businesses can foster customer loyalty and reduce annoyance to thrive. From the love Apple and Google inspire to strategies for less beloved industries, learn how balancing affection and practical improvements can create a brand people advocate for and remain loyal to.
Paul is stepping back from the spotlight to concentrate on nurturing high-value relationships and opportunities in customer experiences, rapid growth ventures, and impactful giving. Learn about the creation of the Q-Team, a group designed to transform businesses with surgical precision, scientific methods, spiritual insights, and sensual engagement.
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