Consumer-Company Identification → Trust/Commitment → Loyalty Behaviors
by Steve Pieroway, Founder, Benevolent Marketing —
“All things being equal, people will do business with, and recommend business to, people they know, like, and trust.”
–Bob Burg
That’s the Shangri-La of all service providers, right? We want current and potential customers who know us, like us, and think we do such a good job that they would risk their reputation with friends and family to recommend us.
It’s easy to understand. And much more difficult to implement. But that doesn’t mean we can’t head in the right direction.
As a runner, how do you tip the odds in your favor? How do you increase the likelihood that someone knows, likes, and trusts you?
Years ago I conducted a research study that tried to answer this question. The hypothesis: The more we positively identify with a company (brand), the more likely we are to trust and engage with the brand, thus increasing our desire to buy again AND refer others to them.
Or, expressed in equation form:
Consumer-Business (Brand) Identification + Trust/Engagement = Repeat Business & Referrals
For context, this study was conducted in the Canadian airline industry with WestJet and Air Canada as target companies.
The results?
Before we get to the test, let’s look at the pudding and dive into the model.
Consumer Brand Identification
Coined by academics Bhattacharya and Sen, Consumer-Company Identification, based on social identity theory, posits that some of the deepest and most meaningful relationships are based on identity similarity, identity distinctiveness, and prestige. of identity.
identity similarity
“Birds of a feather flock together.”
—William Turner
Humans are social creatures. As such, we are motivated to be around people who share similar interests, values, and beliefs.
Identity similarity, then, is the perceived similarity between a consumer’s self-identity and a company’s perceived organizational identity. The more a person believes that a company has the same values and beliefs, the more likely they are to find the company’s identity attractive. That is, give ‘like’ to the company.
The consumer-company dynamic creates an ‘in-group’ of shared beliefs and values. Look at the Crossfitters. There is a whole culture around being a Crossfit enthusiast. They train hard with HIIT workouts, eat ketogenic or high-protein diets, and even have a competition to determine the fittest person. This community even has its own vocabulary. WOD. Helena. Fran. cindy. Murph.
LOOK.
Identity Distinction
As much as people want to “fit in” with certain social groups, paradoxically it is also necessary to “stand out”. A key tenet of social identity theory is that people seek to differentiate themselves from relevant “out-groups” in social settings.
Loyalty and in-group survival are correlated with the level of perceived distinctiveness among relevant out-groups. And having an outgroup brings out group differences, which helps reassure a person of their position within the group.
Let’s go back to Crossfitters and compare them to long-distance runners. Both groups are athletes. However, everything about them is different. His training methods. Where do they train? The vocabulary they use. Both groups have similar internal norms, but they are different from the relevant external group.
identity prestige
In essence, identity prestige is the desire to “bask in the reflected glory” of the company. It is the perception that a customer has of how successful and important others see the company with which he identifies.
Now this may seem a bit superficial at first glance. But if you look, it’s all around us. Clubs. Associations. memberships We look at the branding of these things as a guide, and when we’re included in the group, it gives us a boost. We feel included, and potentially even a bit special.
If you knew the WestJet of the 2000s, it would be easy to see this idea of ”reflected glory” in action. WestJet’s success was everyone’s success. And for those fans, it felt good to be a part of the WestJet party because they knew that others, their inner group, held WestJet in high regard.
Brand identity
As Bob Burg said, all else being equal, we will do business with those we know, love and trust. How much we ‘know’ and ‘like’ a company or brand depends on the strength of identity similarity, distinctiveness and prestige.
In the next article, we’ll look at the impact of trust and engagement on the brand relationship and how this affects loyalty behaviors like referrals and repeat purchases.
To be continued… (Read the second part)
About the Author
Let’s face it: Marketing and sales are hard enough. Market and sell a service like insurance? Even harder.
Standing out from the crowd when you sell the same product and have the same credentials as everyone else is not easy. But it is necessary. Using a unique relationship marketing framework that he developed, Steve helps brokerages do just that – stand out from the crowd.
Prior to starting Benevolent Marketing, Steve was at Policy Works, where he led the Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service teams (although not all at the same time). Fortunately, he was never allowed to code, although it was his only secret wish.
While at Policy Works, he led the drive to double monthly recurring revenue, created the Business Management System (CMS) category, the Policy Works Ninja campaign, and the Broker Recognition Week t-shirt giveaway.
Now, he’s contributing his talents to the brokerage community (IYKYK, right, basketball fans?). And I couldn’t be happier.
About charity marketing
Benevolent Marketing is strategy and brand positioning for insurance brokers. Why benevolent? Because it is one of the three pillars of trust, along with capacity and reliability. And in credential-based services, trust is king.
We help insurance brokers build a unique brand so that when an insured is ready to switch providers, they are drawn to you. For more information please visit www.benevolentmarketing.com.
SOURCE: Charity Marketing
