My Dirty Little Secret, I've Been Cheating On You

Yes, I’ll admit it - this is something of a confession. I’ve been unfaithful, more than once. I’ve gone plural if you like. But here’s the thing, I don’t feel at all guilty about it, and neither should you. Because you know you’ve done it too, many times. And not only that, we will both continue to do it.

I’ve recently returned from a retail conference in Las Vegas, and it was there that I realised the true nature of my unfaithfulness.

Because retailer after retailer got up on stage and waxed lyrical to the audience about their loyal customers. One even going so far as to equate loyalty with the millions who are members of their ‘loyalty’ scheme.

Which, by the way, is something of a misnomer. Because loyalty schemes really shouldn’t be referred to as such. Why? Because there’s no loyalty involved on the part of the consumer. We’re out there for a good time, to get as much as we can for as little as we can.

Net promoter score? Same thing. Because we’ll tell you just about anything we know you want to hear in return for some perceived value in return. Because we’re like that. We’re promiscuous. We sleep with you one moment and jump into bed with your biggest competitor the next, without a shred of guilt attached.

And that kind of open relationship will persist whilst you remain steadfastly attached to the notion that we are somehow in love with your brand. That we are your customer.

We’re All Fans

Let’s face it, retail does a decidedly poor job of learning from other sectors, when in reality, it has plenty to learn, most noticeably around the subject of loyalty.

When I was eight, our neighbour was an ardent Chelsea supporter, a season-ticket holder, and he took me to many games at Stamford Bridge. And from that day on, I have always supported Chelsea, I’m a lifelong fan.

Now, for those of you who follow the game, you’ll know that Chelsea aren’t exactly having the best of seasons this year, languishing as they are in the bottom half of the table. But the thought of switching my allegiance to leaders Arsenal or Manchester City, is inconceivable.

To a greater or lesser extent, we’re all fans at heart. It doesn’t have to be football, it could be the theatre or music. I’m sure you will have your favourites, in which case you’ll know the kind of bond we establish with the brand, team or person. It’s worthy of note, that the sports brands - such as Nike, Adidas, Puma and Gymshark, are adept at forming a very similar relationship with their customers, sorry, fans. It’s an entirely emotional attachment and therefore an enduring one.

They draw us into the brand in a very inclusive manner and once we’re in that place, it’s extremely hard to break away. The brand transcends a transactional relationship and becomes part of the fabric of our lives. We enjoy the experience of being a follower.

Could such as Walmart, Tesco, Target, M&S, Zara, Rapha and so forth, aspire to this level of emotional connection? The answer of course is yes, because there’s really no reason why not. So why aren’t they?

The answer lies somewhere in the psyche of how most retail organisations are run, they view us as customers. Let’s return to the sporting analogy. We will happily pay a lot of money to see our favourite performers and whilst there, in addition to the ticket price, we will also often pay for merchandise - retail. I can’t imagine how much the concession store at Augusta National has taken these past few days.

Now, I’m not for one moment suggesting that to enter a store, we should be charged gate money (although some have tried, turning the brand into something of a club) but surely the principles of that relationship are transferable?

Because, when all is said and done, it comes down to how the business views it’s customer - fan base. Retail and therefore what it means to be a retailer, is rapidly transforming in front of our eyes, but there are those who still cling to the old way of running the business. Transactional, sales per square foot, conversion rates and so on; deluding themselves that because we’re part of their loyalty scheme, somehow it makes us loyal.

Retail should be about how we are feeling. Do we feel connected? Do we feel emotionally stirred by what we are doing? Do we feel part of the brand? If the answer is yes, there is a chance that we will become loyal followers, but if it’s no, we will happily sleep with your biggest competitor without giving it a second thought.

Credit: Andrew Busby