Building brand loyalty has definitely changed over the years - no doubt. It use to be due to price and quality. The more expensive the better the quality. There were a lot less products in the market place as well. Now it is an overcrowded playing field with too much competition and cut throat pricing everywhere - or is it?

It has been proven over and over that price is not the end all or be all in the ultimate buying decision. Yes there are times when your financial situation may dictate a discount brand but if you are a Starbucks fan nothing will stop you from ordering that triple caf, 1/2 decaf, 2 shots of caramel, Frappuccino with extra whipped cream, oh yea and make it a lite. Even if it does cost 3 times more than a competitor you will forego the 3 ply toilette paper so you can have this experience of supporting your team, your brand. You are a Brand Champion and this is your team and you are loyal to the end and price had nothing to do with it. It is the experience.

This is how I see it. At the bottom level you have the "Commodity", in this case roasted coffee beans that you can buy at the store. Bring then home and grind them up and have coffee for maybe 6.5¢ per cup. The next level is the generated "Product". This would be going to the store and buying a national brand like Maxwell House. You can purchase this at a higher price because of the added value of being pre-ground and packaged and the price may be 45¢ per cup. The next level is "Service" which is what a mini-mart or 7/11 would provide by brewing it and giving you the cup, sugar, cream substitute and brewing it for you. This could be maybe around $1.50 a cup because again they are providing you with additional added value. Now we come to the next level which is what starts to build Brand Loyalty and that is what I call "Experiential".

This is where StarBucks excels by creating the experience. Not only can you get coffee you can try exotic blends from all over the world that you can't find in any of the previous levels of the coffee offer. OK, you can probably find assorted blends in the supermarket but you can't have it right now and fresh brewed. In addition they steam the milk, offer different flavorings, a barista to make you beverage and of course a wrapper on the cup so you don't burn yourself. You can even bring in your laptop and get FREE Wifi so you can read emails, chat, check out FaceBook or whatever else you want to do. They ask your name, write it on your cup a real personal touch, and then yell out your name so you can claim your awaited beverage like a trophy. If you are a true "Starbuckian Loyalist" they even remember your name if you are a daily caffeine addict. This is an "Experience" and this leads to Brand Loyalty. That is "Transformational Marketing" in a nut shell. You are transforming your customer with a great experience so they can be a huge champion for your brand.

I once read about how coffee was made popular in Japan. If you think about it it is strange how a tea drinking society for centuries in fact millennium became coffee drinkers in one generation. The account I read talks about how in the 70's, or around there, they opened coffee houses around Tokyo and other cities and because of the tradition tea held for this culture, they had no business. So some creative and determined entrepreneurs thought about the problem and came up with the idea to introduce coffee flavored ice cream into the culture. The kids loved it and even caught on with adults as a new kind of dessert. As the kids became of age they started visiting coffee house and coffee sales exploded. Now it is one of the most popular drinks in Japan. Again an experience was created that made people champions of their new found drink. I am sure there are competing coffee brands in Japan as well and brand champions behind all of them.

This is not meant to be a story about coffee but the examples are great for illustrating how creating an experience leads to a transformation of just having a customer to creating Brand Champions that will not only come back but will tell all of their friends about you. Sports like the NFL, NBA, NHL and others know this better than anyone. The problem comes in when you let you fans down. With sports that's just part of the game but with your brand you don't have to let your fans down. You have the advantage to always keep them loyal and being a fan by continually giving them and experience they can talk about.

It comes down to legitimacy, core values and are you for real. No longer can you hide behind a corporate vail or a slick ad campaign and even though it was done that way for years it still had very little value. That is why brands had to constantly re-invent themselves and sell us perceived value for decades. Now we want one thing and one thing only and that is to back the things we buy because of true value and not because we are lured into buying a novelty. OK crap!