What my Harley-Davidson taught me about loyalty

When I was…well never mind, it was a pretty long time ago. Anyway, at that time I had a Harley-Davidson (that’s it above). Bought it used, stripped it down, rebuilt the top end, bottom end, front end, and spent a ton of money on a bunch of Harley “stuff.”

Consciously and subconsciously, I also bought into the brand. Why? Well, because it appealed to me on a deeply emotional level, touching feelings like: freedom, rebelliousness, individuality, power, and of course, on an auditory level…sound.

And I wasn’t alone. There were (and are) millions of Harley owners. Men and women who felt those same emotions, all having in common a passion for all things Harley. At the risk of sounding too “zen-like” it’s almost like a cult, with the faithful being one with Harley-Davidson communities, groups and products.

Talk about being committed to a product. I recall reading someplace that 10% of Harley owners have the Harley logo tattooed on their body somewhere. Which means there are a lot of Harley-Davidson human billboards walking around. And those are media impressions that you can’t buy, which are going to literally last a lifetime.

But, with their demographic getting older, even with that kind of loyalty, I’m pretty sure Harley-Davidson is rethinking ways to attract younger buyers. Ways that will continue to mirror the emotions and beliefs of a wider-ranging audience.

Harley and me.

I didn’t realize it back then, but my Harley and everything associated with “Harley-ness”, would have a big impact on me as a future marketer. About the importance of tapping into feelings in order to connect with a target audience. How to build deep and ongoing relationships with customers in order to cultivate passion about products and services. Those things became an integral part of my business development, sales and marketing makeup.

We all don’t have products like Harleys. And, tattoos aside, there are companies like Amazon®, Google™, and Zappos® that do a pretty good job and certainly have their believers. But, the point is, in order to attract and maintain loyalty and revenue, there are some basics relevant to most businesses that need to be addressed with your customer and prospect base.

• Emotional connection. To make and reinforce an emotional connection with your prospects and customers, constantly update your qualitative and quantitative research to get a current idea about what you know, and more importantly, what you don’t know about them.

• Cultivate word-of-mouth recommendations. Regularly evaluate, refine and train all your staff on your Referral Program using input gathered from your research.

• CRM x 2. Keep in mind that CRM is more than software. It’s also about building a universal sales and a “buying” culture/mentality in your company that genuinely (yet subtly) reinforces your company’s value to your customers. Always giving them a reason to buy and recommend your products and services.

• Proving your worth. Make sure your proposals and presentations have measurable and agreed upon metrics. Then review outcomes on a regular basis with your clients via summary reports signed by senior management. Conduct more formal reviews in face-to-face meetings at least semi-annually, and again, with senior management.

• Quality improvement. Constantly improve your product and services no matter how good they may be. Conduct internal improvement sessions, combined with external online surveys, user groups (virtual and at your facility if appropriate) and pilot programs.

• It’s about them, not you. “ABC” your customer base and implement a 12-, 16- and 24-month outreach program that creatively addresses problems and needs common to your audience and provide solutions.

• Create opportunities. View every communication (especially negative ones) as an opportunity to make a positive impression that reinforces quantified value.

• Deepening brand. Make sure your advertising, PR and social media programs are coordinated and measurable.

• It works both ways. Lastly, be loyal to your customers and, hopefully, they’ll be loyal to you.

These are just a few things that will help to establish credibility, build trust and generate revenue. Make sure they’re addressed and who knows, maybe one day you’ll see your company logo tattooed on someone’s body.