Most are familiar with the cliché: “You only have one chance to make a good first impression.” It doesn’t just apply to people - it’s true for businesses and nonprofit organizations, too.
Although every brand touchpoint in your organization should be amazing, the first one customers experience represents a big responsibility. It’s make-it or break-it time.
A recent survey conducted by ClickFox underscores this belief. It states that almost 60% of consumers decide when a brand becomes their favorite immediately after their first purchase or service begins.
And, which factors are most influential in their loyalty to brands?
Brand quality and image are the most influential factors in survey respondents’ brand loyalty (35%). Customer service was the next-most influential (27%).
The least influential factors were convenience/ease of use, maintenance of consumer privacy, lack of a loyalty program, and corporate responsibility. (However, I wouldn’t suggest you rule these out completely. The ClickFox survey was a small sampling and larger established surveys show how influential cause marketing can be - which is part of corporate responsibility.)
It doesn’t surprise me that brand quality and image are number one, followed by customer service. These factors, melded together, are crucial in making positive brand impressions.
And, even though the study focused on B2C (business-to-consumer) companies, I imagine that B2B (business-to-business) and nonprofit customers would place similar emphasis on these factors.
So, tell me, how much does your business or nonprofit focus on its brand? Are all employees customer oriented, ensuring that customers’ first brand impressions are good ones? Scratch that. Amazing ones!
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