Today we are witnessing a high level of orchestrated brand loyalty. Among the noted culprits are the Telecommunications as well as banking brands. There are several promos going on now promising customers a new lease of life when they bank with them or when they recharge their phones with certain amounts. We all know that people need incentives to act at certain point in time or the other. But come to think of it, when a man’s efforts are geared toward buying love from a potential ‘wife’, what level of ROI will he get at long except the lady love him purely in returns. Someone out there can feel me. Orchestrated brand loyalty is like wooing a lady with material stuff. Such relationships are never smooth like the normal one where the basis of the relationship is borne out of pure love, respect for each other as well as mutual understanding of a secured future by both parties.

The purchase of love with goodies like orchestrated brand loyalty enjoy by brands that are involved in this is often short-lived as such is full of headaches and heartbreaks.

To start a right loyal following, I think the telecommunications brand should increase their services and reduce rate of drop calls, “the mobile you are calling is not available now”, traffic jam, reduce or eliminate the high level of fake text messages as well as track all fraudulent websites hosted in their names to dupe unsuspecting public etc. The bank brands should keep their promises or make promises they have capacity to deliver, ensure their staff represent them, be concerned about the plight of the customers’ money and stop gambling with customers hard earned cash, reduce the level of internal fraud, do something about the Automated cash machine fraud among others. Accelerating the value of the brand and increasing the gap of emotional connection will help. I think there is no level of promo and incentives that will guarantee continuous loyalty to the brand at the end. In fact the followings are some of the rewards of orchestrated loyalty.

1. Low level of commitment: Most customers are committed to the brands because of what the stand to gain. It never goes beyond that. They never consider themselves as a brand community.

2. Lack of sustain relationship: research has shown that as soon as the promo or the incentives are over, 99% of those who patronize the brands often move or remain redundant at best. There is clear and open apathy being displayed even when the incentives last.

3. Advocacy is not given: the product of every loyalty is to move customers from loyalists to advocates. That is the highest form of loyalty where they pass positive words of mouths around about the brands. Since the relationship is not that of mutual respect or based on common goal. The customers are only interested in the returns promised by the promos. As soon as they do not become lucky winners-and tell me how many people out of the millions are usually lucky? They will take to their heels and they need to be cajoled again if they will ever stay.

Am I saying that incentives and promo do not work? The answer is capital NO. The focus is that brands should concentrate more on building true loyalty instead of short-lived ones they are involved in now. Because the vanishing numbers of customers after the incentives show that something is wrong with that method.

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2. Enhance your brand through R.O.I.I