Product and Employee Loyalty Both Cut the Same Way

Editor's Note: Today's post comes to us courtesy of guest contributor Chris Dobyns.

When it comes to the target audience that the advertising industry hopes to influence with regard to product and brand loyalty, I’m confident that one of the pictures in their Rolodex includes a photo of my wife. 

And yes, I’m fully aware that I’m heading down a potentially rocky road by virtue of that first sentence ...

My wife is unequivocally, if less consciously, subscribed to this concept of product loyalty. This is to the exclusion of even contemplating testing any of the soft or hard innovations that are almost constantly being presented to consumers in the form of new and/or improved product offerings. I’ve halfway convinced myself that given the serendipity of bad timing (combined with a compelling advertising campaign), that she’d still be opting for a rough cloth and a mixture of salt and chalk to brush her teeth, instead of a stockpile of Gleem toothpaste and her beloved Oral-B toothbrush. It may sound absurd, but product loyalty prompts just this kind of seemingly irrational, albeit hugely predictable behavior in consumers. 

Marketing Research – It’s Not Just for Advertisers Any More

All of that apparent success in marketing and creating positive “impressions” with consumers that translate into product loyalty (and yes, I know that success certainly isn’t limited to just my wife), got me wondering.  Could some of those same principles could be adapted and applied with similar success to help with workforce retention, talent acquisition and management?

Customer and product loyalty are both fairly abstract concepts, but are generally defined as the intent or the action of consistently selecting a certain brand or product over a competing product.  Loyalty is typically measured individually or as a combination of:  inclination to repurchase; willingness to recommend the product to others; resistance to switching products based on price and cross-buying within the same brand. 

It’s not difficult to see that the same attitudes and behaviors being cultivated about consumers products are some of the same objectives of employers, in the acquisition and then retention of talent.  Coincidentally, when it comes to product and brand loyalty, marketers actually refer to the behavioral indicator of loyalty as retention. 

It’s Still Mostly About Money, Right?

Certainly pay and benefits (or a product price point) are important in influencing the decisions and behaviors in employees or consumers.  However, of the half-dozen principles regularly cited as the most effective in influencing product and brand loyalty in consumers, none of them seem to have a distinct monetary or extrinsic dimension:

• Changing products (or switching employers) can be a hassle.  As a producer (or an employer) you should do as much to position and bind yourself to the consumer (or your employees) as possible, to maximize the costs of “switching.”
• Keep processes and program design as simple as possible.  Reducing the effort required of consumers (or employees) improves their overall experience, drives positive behavior and establishes or increases loyalty.
• Make for an easy, repeatable consumer experience, whether that is buying and using a product or participating in or obtaining (an employer) process or service.  A familiar, positive experience reinforces habits and, again, makes it more difficult to switch.
• Take steps to provide predictable customer service and be prepared to take that over-the-top when things occasionally don’t go perfectly.
• Propagate and embrace shared values that strengthen emotional loyalty.  Consumers (and employees) are not loyal to companies, but to what the companies stand for.
• Loyalty programs and gamification have been found to positively influence product and brand loyalty with consumers.  Similar to the employer proposition offered, a product and the company core values must be functioning satisfactorily, as a loyalty program alone will not solve an already bad situation.

Everyone’s Doing It, Or Are They?

No shortage of studies point to the huge return on investment that can result from cultivating greater customer loyalty.  Strangely, marketers devote few resources to establishing and increasing product and brand loyalty.  At least intuitively, then, it would appear highly possible for employers to enhance their brand identity, talent acquisition and retention by the broad application of these same principles that seem to be so effective in influencing product and brand loyalty in consumers.

Everyone probably has a different perspective.  What’s yours?

Chris Dobyns, CCP, CBP is currently employed as a Human Capital Strategic Consultant for the Office of Human Resource Strategy and Program Design for one of the largest U.S. intelligence agencies. The Office of Human Resource Strategy and Program Design is responsible for organizational effectiveness, personnel assessment, compensation and incentives, occupational structure, recognition and rewards, HR policy, human capital program design, implementation, evaluation and assessment and internal consulting. Chris has worked in the area of compensation for more than 35 years, and has been employed in various compensation-related positions by a number of large, private sector companies including, Sears, Roebuck, Arizona Public Service and Westinghouse Savannah River Company.

Original image "Employee Loyalty" courtesy of Chris Dobyns.

Comments

[Joe Thompson]

Increasingly, Chris, I wonder how many of our readers will understand the concept of a Rolodex.

Several years ago, I read about a tech company that approached recruiting and retention with the mantra "We want to hire you THREE times!" It was a recognition that they wanted to instill an employer brand loyalty so that employees would keep coming back to them. It permeated how they engaged with employees at every stage in the lifecycle - in the process, addressing many of the loyalty principles you cite. The key takeaway for me was that an organization has to align and integrate its strategy throughout its practices (and I can hear your Claude Rains as Captain Renault impression warming up).

In marketing language, you need to consciously create and sustain your brand.

In talent management language, it is not your employee value PROPOSITION that matters, it is your employee value EXPERIENCE that matters and that drives brand loyalty.

[Chris Dobyns]

Funny, as this idea coalesced, I did pause and reflect on the use of the term Rolodex. Ultimately, I just couldn't make myself use some modern day equivalent like, contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) listing - or at least not to the say effect.

Yes, we've talked about the need to "re-recruit" our employees, but without making much progress, so far.

Perhaps we'd have more success if we just invoked the more familiar phrase, ". . . round-up the usual suspects"?

[EJames Brennan]

A friend who ran a very large BBB unit once did a groundbreaking study for a Japanese automaker that overwhelmingly proved that their product complaint department was a potentially significant money-maker.

Fast customer feedback generated retention. The shorter the time duration between initial complaint and response, the more loyalty the customers reported. Speed of attentive feedback was critical while the nature of the problem disposition was essentially IRRELEVANT. People whose complaints were settled to their advantage after long waits were actually less loyal to the vendor than those customers whose complaints were immediately rejected. With courtesy, of course.

The firm proceeded to intensify the quality of their CSRs and to accelerate their complaint response times. Repeat buyers increased. It was a VERY profitable decision.