Beware of Pissing Off Your Loyal
Followers
In the U.S.,
“pissing off” someone is to make them mad at you – sometimes REALLY mad. In the
case of a customer, that’s mad enough to never buy your products again, and
maybe even mad enough to say bad stuff about you in social media, too.
The more loyal
your customers and followers are, the more pissed off at you they will become
if you do something ‘wrong.’
Take the case of
SoulCycle. Their customers are loyal almost to a level of being cultish. Or I
should say, were so loyal.
Here’s what
happened: The company was established in 2006 not just to sell spin classes,
but also spiritual bliss. Instructors spoke of enlightenment, transcendence and
higher purpose. And instructors even became deeply and emotionally involved
with riders, giving them advice and guidance on their lives.
SoulCycle devotees
purchased not only classes, but anything the company produced. The company
created deeply personal connections with its customers, building irresistible
‘cult brand’ appeal. This army of spinning fanatics grew the company into a
billion-dollar entity.
The company was
sold to billionaire real estate tycoon Stephen Ross, who owns the $60 billion
empire, “Related Companies,” which controls 13,000 apartments, 5,500 condos,
60,000 housing units and 30 million square feet of commercial real estate.
Last summer Ross
decided to host a fundraising lunch for Donald Trump, selling tickets at
$100,000 each. Yes, you read that right - one hundred thousand dollars per
plate.
Almost
immediately, SoulCycle devotees took to social media and the streets to
publicly cut ties with the company. Remember, SoulCycle was built upon the
message of inclusion and self-acceptance, antithetical to Trump’s policies.
Week by week
attendance at SoulCycle dropped steadily in August, with 13% fewer purchases
than in the year prior.
Customers felt
betrayed, not unlike finding out your lover is cheating on you. And just like
any relationship, the closer the ties, the more emotional and dramatic the
reaction and subsequent breakup.
If the company
were built solely upon ordinary spin classes, there might have been no backlash
at all. Then again, the company likely would never have become a billion-dollar
juggernaut, either.
As a marketer,
building a cult following is an almost unparalleled method for building a
profitable business. Just look at what Airbnb and Apple have done with their
cult like status.
But just like any
relationship, it’s important to be consistently consistent at all times. If you
promise to be faithful to your wife, then you better do it or face the
consequences.
And if you promise
your loyal customers to be the person, brand or company with the values and
ideals they love, then you better stay on that path at all times and never
deviate.
This isn’t hard or
difficult – it’s simply common sense. Decide from the very start what you and
your brand stand for. You can make minor modifications in the beginning if you
see that it’s what your market wants.
But
once you reach a tipping point and people are drawn to you for what you stand
for, then you’ve got your manifesto. Stay in alignment with it and watch your
business flourish.
To Your Online Success
Steven Morton
Founder-Marketing Mastermind Tips
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