There have been several articles lately regarding the impact the economy has on purchase behavior and product brand loyalty.  Trone conducted a survey of their online Mom panel, and today’s lead story in Ad Age is about brands that are losing consumers.

I align with the majority of respondents in the Trone survey – I’m more aware of in-store promotions (66%) and I actively use coupons (54%)  But how else have my consumption and purchase patterns been altered by the economy?  And what does it mean to really be brand loyal?

There are over 825K results on Google for “brand loyalty“.  The first few definitions are:

• A situation when a consumer is reluctant to switch from buying and consuming the product from the brand he knows and trusts.
• A strongly motivated and long standing decision to purchase  a particular product or service
• The situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer-originated product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category

I challenge some of these definitions.  Words such as “reluctant”, “strongly motivated” or “generally buys” indicate preference not loyalty.  To me true brand loyalty means I will go without if I cannot get the brand I most desire.

Being from the South, “coke” is a rather generic term for “carbonated beverage” (aka soda).  However, when I order in a restaurant and ask for Diet Coke™ I expect that is what I will receive.  It only took one unexpected sip of the competitor to now always clarify.  See, I would rather drink water than Pepsi™.  That’s brand loyalty!

In the past year, I think that my brand loyal list has shortened by a product or two, but my brand preference list has gotten much longer.  I would rather buy products from Kraft, Kodak, Nabisco, Neutrogena, Charmin…but if the price is right I will “temporarily make do” with another brand.

What would you rather go without?  So what brands are you truly loyal to?

The Twittersphere is abuzz this morning!

Everyone is talking about what J.R. Cohen, Operations Manager for CoffeeGroundz (@coffeegroundz) Cafe in Houston, TX has done. He’s doubled the clientele to his store. How, you ask? By starting to take drink orders via direct message from Twitter users.

A coffee shop (that also doubles as a lounge at night by serving beer and wine), is the perfect type of business to take advantage of this new medium of communication. The store has free WiFi which makes it convenient for people to linger. WiFi also means that people will have their internet enabled devices there, making it easy for them to simply message the guy at the counter for a drink!

This is a powerful example about how businesses can use new media and social networking to reach with their customers on a different level. They’re not marketing towards them. They’re connecting with customers and creating a relationship, which we all knows leads to brand loyalty.

How are other companies using Twitter to connect with their customers?

• @SouthwestAir – Southwest Airlines offers deals and promotions to Twitter followers.
• @BofA_help – Bank of America is using Twitter to respond and actually solve customer complaints.
• @zappos – Zapos CEO Tony Hsieh uses Twitter to offer coupon codes (that expire quickly so you have to follow him to get the deals) and to stay connected with customers that want to be actively engaged with his brand.

Using new social media platforms to connect with your customers is the wave of the future.

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Previously:  What is all the Twitter hype about?