What keeps you loyal?

I don’t think I am loyal to any brand in particular, maybe First Direct, but if I they changed in such a way that I didn’t like, they would lose me pronto.

It is more a case of using or buying a brand as long as it delivers to your satisfaction rather than loyalty.

I have loyalty cards for many brands ranging from supermarkets, stores, on-line stores, hotels and airlines. If they are offered free, I get one. I don’t go out of my way to use them, so don’t make the most of them, but sometimes get something in return.

Loyalty is a many faceted concept. It implies continued use of the same organisation , with or without any emotional need. It also implies the repetitive use of an organisation because they have supplied our requirements efficiently and do what we want them to. One is also loyal because the personnel are kind and considerate and it is a pleasure to deal with them. Loyalty is also there when, like my bank, they have, for x years given me a working current account and there is no reason to change and thus no change is made. In this last case, however, there is no loyalty in return. Loyalty can also equate with convenience. If a major supermarket is the only one in proximity, then that is where one goes. To earn loyalty where there is competition, requires the store to provide more than the opposition. However, again, in my case, habit leads me to one store without rationalising the choice. I then get angry with them when I have to shop elsewhere, but still go back.
If loyalty is simply an emotional attachment because one feels that the organisation actually cares about you, as a person, then it is only the small outfits that really count and loyalty equates with personal contact. For me, loyalty is also about committing to an organisation, club or society. Once committed, I would expect to participate fully in the activities and give back some of the pleasure of being a member. Thus I feel loyal and that’s different from any type of loyalty to a commercial concern.

Loyalty to a major company generally implies no reciprocation in my experience. I have had an account with John Lewis for nigh on fifty years and we do buy a lot from them, but that is usually on the basis of price, convenience, and better design than other outlets within range. But there is little genuine loyalty in return. I know that I can have a John Lewis loyalty card and get a cup of tea and a bun but we don’t need that so don’t bother. There is no feeling of preferred customer status, or beneficial customer rewards, unlike at an independent department store in Norwich which recognises long-standing customers as ‘Friends’ and has special customer evenings several times a year with 20% discounts, special offers in different categories from time to time, and pre-sale buying opportunities; unfortunately their product range is limited but they do what they are good at, offer high quality and very good service at reasonable prices, and treat customers with much more respect than other stores.

I make an exception in the case of my building society where I have a current account. I have been with the Nationwide and its predecessors for over fifty years as a mortgagor, saver/investor, and as a retail banking customer. There are exclusive loyalty savings accounts with superior terms and conditions and with better interest rates according to length of membership. I see my relationship with Nationwide as genuine mutuality.

Even though it is our nearest big supermarket and we go there frequently we could never feel loyal to Tesco because I think their pricing and their product-stocking policies are far too calculating of their own advantage. Lines are summarily de-listed so familiar products, or alternatives to their own-label goods, are no longer available, and they have allowed the quality of their ordinary lines to fall in favour of their premium lines which are no better than other retailers’ mid-range items. If you shop in Tesco and want Bourbon biscuits it’s their own and no others. For limited brand choice M&S is preferable because their own-brand merchandise is generally superior. It is noticeable that under Tesco’s brand-match scheme the savings are now infinitesimal – spend £65 and find you have saved just one penny against the same items at Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons; this is not good enough from a company with the enormous buying power and market control of Tesco. Our preferred supermarket overall for the weekly shop is Sainsbury’s for product range, quality and value but their Nectar reward system is extremely calculating to ensure it is virtually impossible to benefit from it.

Many retailers, including John Lewis, are no longer offering other brands, or products from other manufacturers, unless they are at a significantly higher price than their own-label goods. In particular, in their own stores, JL’s own lines are only competing against high-price lines and designer brands. Of course, alternatives might be available at other shops in the area but that involves a trek and occasional disappointment. Generally we try to get everything we need under one roof or within a close distance.

I tend to stick with companies that haven’t upset me too much. Even if there are cheaper alternatives. Although having said that once my current delivery saver runs its course I may switch to a new supermarket. I was surprised the one I left 2 years ago hasn’t tried to win me back. Otherwise I would have gone back sooner.

In the article in the January 2018 Which?Magazine, Ellie says “. . . make sure you are getting real benefits from your brand relationships – or take your custom elsewhere”. I commented earlier on my ‘brand relationship’ with John Lewis and how I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t do much to establish and recognise loyalty in a meaningful way. The problem is that we have already demonstrated to the JL Partnership that we are unlikely to take our custom elsewhere so they have little incentive to enhance our connection to them. As for taking our custom elsewhere . . . Where to? There are no other stores in the entire county that come anywhere close to their standard and have almost everything we want except food and clothing under one roof. And they know it.

Reference was made in the January Magazine article to how people feel so little loyalty to Boots. This is quite a turn-round because Boots used to be one of the most liked and trusted shops on the high street, noted for good quality but economical products, a conscientious attitude towards their customers, and responsible and reliable retailing. They were the first port of call for anything medicinal and for a wide range of household requirements. They have let this reputation slip away from them and the supermarkets have quickly filled the vacuum by selling all the toiletries, cosmetics, and personal products that any household needs, and by establishing pharmacies within their larger stores they have also cut out the prescription and self-medication trade that Boots used as the cornerstone of their business. Asda has even muscled in on the optician service and taken a good slice of the action. What do people go to Boots for these days? Complex medicaments, perfumes and make-up, mother & baby lines, sandwiches and unhealthy snacks & drinks, and a veritable jumble sale of novelties and fancy goods. Boots has for some time been noted for ‘distress purchases’ – things you don’t want but have to have. They didn’t sell things to their customers, they just bought them as a necessity and used the ‘loyalty’ card to get them slightly cheaper.

There is an amusing little comment in the January Magazine article on Lloyds Bank: “. . . a recent campaign showed its symbolic black horse taking centre stage as the backdrop to a sequence of life-changing events”. That’s quite a dramatic turn to pull off successfully. What a clever little one-trick pony!