Our discussion topic at last week’s marketing executive peer group meeting was around how to develop and market loyalty? One of the questions we asked ourselves was “What company are we as individuals loyal to and why.” Here is the list we came up with:

• Alaska Airlines: They are local, give good service, have a good loyalty program, and provide a consistently good product.
• Patagonia: Likes what they stand for and how they live up to their creed.
• Les Schwab Tires: Unbelievable service over time; they keep exceeding expectations.
• Nordstrom: You know that you’re always going to get quality, and if it’s not, you can take it back with no questions asked. They’re local. No surprises.
• Faucet Direct: Wife will go nowhere else. Gets selection, price, quality. Similar model to Zappos. So they wait for their faucets. Had a faucet no one else could find.
• Google: An early adopter; keeps it as his home page. Has never used other search engines. The approach to the portal (clean), innovation, the way the company is managed, quality of product.
• iPhone: Used to be loyal to Blackberry, but then was switched by his company to iPhone and loves it. But then read Steve Jobs’ book (guy is a jerk) and now the Apple brand is being tainted by his impressions of Jobs.
• Delta: Because of their loyalty program and length of time spent in the program.
• Costco: Price and quality in combination. But their involvement in the last election soured it.
• I-5 Signs: As a business person with limited budget, will often look at price first. But this company is responsive, delivers whole package, anticipates needs, is proactive, quality.
• Mod Pizza: Unique concept, up-and-comers, rooting for them to succeed, affordable price ($6.26 per), customize each order, lively, friendly, fast, fun brand.
• Volkswagon & Audi: Has owned these brands for decades and remembers how she was treated when she bought her first car as a single woman. How the big brand interacts with the local dealership and the service they provide.
• Bank of America: Would like to leave, but it’s so difficult to switch. Is “captive.”
• Winslow Drug: Stuck in the 50s, less selection, but local, “main street USA,” so he shops there.
• Town & Country Market: Nicknamed “T&C” on Bainbridge, unique items, locally owned and community oriented, wonderful service, produce is amazing, in sharp contrast to the Safeway. Costs more, but worth it.
• Visio: Perceived as a budget brand, bought a TV and a sound bar, and was floored by the service when she called. Introduced herself and said she was located in South Dakota. Told her to buy it from Amazon because it was competitively priced. Broke after 47 days (too late to return to Amazon). Had to call Visio back, and they replaced it for you for free, with free shipping. The process was so efficient and well managed. Could not have been more helpful.
• Outdoor Research: Give a lifetime guarantee, which is nice because she goes through a pair of gators every six months and they give her a new pair every year. They also support non-profits like Mountain Rescue.
• In & Out Burger: Always goes to eat there when in California. Good product, trusts them, delivers on their promise, efficient so don’t mind long line. The order is perfect. Reliable/consistency. Fixes a problem without issues and don’t make you feel bad for asking.
• Nordstrom: Took care of her. Needed to buy clothes for dinner in an hour and half, and they went nuts and took care of her (dresses, shoes, hosiery), all queued up for her when she went from department to department. Fixed a shoe order that didn’t arrive by over-nighting them.
• Amazon: Shopping since they opened. Take all the stress out of her life. Shops for her out of state family members. Have never messed anything up. Make helpful suggestions.
• Chevron: My dad used it and carried a card in his wallet for year, so I do too. So tradition, relationship built from childhood, trust/comfort.

We had some discussion around the difference between being a “captive” as opposed to a “loyal.” For example, one member executive talked about his dislike of the Bank of America Brand, yet he is not changing banks because it is “just too difficult to leave.”

Favorite Questions:• When your product is a commodity, does loyalty play a role? Or is it only price?
• For B2B, are there any ideas for measuring loyalty beyond customer satisfaction surveys?
• How do you motivate an organization to invest in a loyalty program when they’re in an industry that doesn’t have to worry about churn because there’s a high cost to switch?
• If you sell through distributors, how do you measure loyalty or develop loyalty programs for the end customer?
• How do you build an organized loyalty program out of word of mouth referrals?
• What can you put into place when your sales cycle is not closed-loop?
• Hesitated to do a survey, have good retention, other ideas for measuring loyalty for a service provider. Wants to find ways to dig a little deeper. Why do clients stay with them?
• How do you embed your services in such a way that it makes it difficult for a customer to leave?
• What opportunities might there be to work together with other brands in the “family/parent” group with their own loyalty programs? How to find synergies?
• Problem resolution is a huge opportunity, if you can nail it. How do you work with operations/support services to close any gaps in service level?
• How do you measure loyalty by segment because it can mean different things to different people: trust, product quality, service experience, etc.
• What are some loyalty ideas that used to work but don’t anymore, or that you tried and they flopped?
• How do you create consistency in your experience when you’re spread among regional sales teams in different parts of the country?

Favorite Suggestion:• Get people to say out loud that they recommend you. People love being asked for their opinion. Once their loyalty has been publicly declared they become more compelled to tell other people.

Favorite Resource Recommendation:Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. One of his experiments had to do with self-reinforcing behaviors. If you can get them to say it, they commit to it. People like to be asked for their opinion, and if you tell a friend to buy a Volvo, then you’re committed to buying a Volvo too. Those who are surveyed will actually buy more.

We had a lot of great discussion around Measurement and Loyalty Programs. What works and what doesn’t?When all was said and done, the over-riding theme we all took away from this roundtable was one of “trust, consistency, reliable service.”