If you took the weekend to read Mark Zuckerberg’s shareholder manifesto, you’ll see that Facebook’s IPO is the endgame to a covert loyalty scheme that Zuckerberg envisioned long ago. Like many a successful startup before him, Zuckerberg realized that customer loyalty isn’t created by a program. Facebook nailed the basics, and its growth has been fueled by the relationship it developed with loyal customers the world over. The letter reveals three key loyalty elements that Facebook was built upon:
1. Outline the mission – Zuckerberg makes clear that Facebook was built around a single goal, “to make the world more open and connected.” It’s simple, customers can grasp it easily and decide if this aligns with their vision. A company with a mission, instead of just a product or a service, inspires emotional connections with customers who share its beliefs.
2. Build relationships – “Even if our mission sounds big, it starts small – with the relationship between two people….” Zuckerberg writes. “We also believe that giving people control over what they share is fundamental.” Throughout the manifesto, Zuckerberg highlights the critical importance of the customer. Facebook was built to help customers connect with what they want, and share that connection with others, in a way that they create and control.
3. Be transparent – By the act of publishing his letter, Zuckerberg tells customers what the company is all about, what it prioritizes and its plans for the future. He defines his credo, “The Hacker’s Way,” as a fast-moving, “speed trumps accuracy” vision for how Facebook develops new products and services. And he does it in plain English, blessedly clear of jargon or indecipherable legal terms.
When Zuckerberg and his executive team become billionaires later this year, it will be in part because a smart kid wrote some code. It will also be because he then built a clever management team. But mostly, Facebook has succeeded because of the power of customer loyalty.
