Robert Passikoff has become a good friend of The Wise Marketer. We’ve had innumerable conversations about branding & loyalty. We’ve talked on and off the record about some of the less-than-stellar showings and what’s behind them. And we now have almost a dozen videos with Robert discussing his company’s findings. I admit, we’re big fans of the man and his work.
His company, Brand Keys, recently published the findings from a broad-based survey on loyalty and how consumers feel about certain “tech” brands. You’ll see a summary of the results below and you’ll recognize a handful of brands that you expect to be there. ie. Amazon, Apple, etc. But you’ll also see some surprises as well as some brands that have made significant moves up and down the scale.
We expect to be talking to Robert in the coming days to get a look at the supporting data and piece together the reasons why certain brands came in at their respective ranks – and what those rankings portend for their businesses and the customer’s engagement. The correlations between loyalty rankings and brand performance are remarkable – and predictive. For now though, let’s take a look at the survey highlights.
Three Consumer-Generated Groups = Top 27 B2C and B2B Brand Innovators
This year 5,127 consumers 16 to 65 years of age named companies and brands
as technological innovators, assessed them to identify innovation-synergies,
and rated each brand for its ability to deliver on innovation
expectations.
Based on consumer-identified interrelationships between the 27 brands they
named, these are the designated groupings:
- Predictable Innovators
- Lifestyle Innovators
- Mercantile Innovators
Brands are ranked according to their ability to meet consumer expectations. Unless indicated, brands appeared on the 2018 list.
Predictable Innovators
1. Amazon
2. Apple
3. Google
4. Samsung
5. IBM
6. Netflix
7. Microsoft
8. Pinterest
Lifestyle Innovators
1. CVS Health
2. Patagonia (new)
3. Nike
4. Truepic (new)
5. Spotify
6. Sephora (new)
7. Peloton (new)
8. Snapchat
9. Duolingo (new)
10. Hulu
11. Oatly (new)
Mercantile Innovators
1. Slack
2. Twilio
3. Shopify (new)
4. Instagram
5. Square (new)
6. Unmade (new)
7. Intuit (new)
8. Salesforce.com (new)
According to Passikoff, “Patagonia has figured out new ways for consumers to save money and save the planet. It should come as no surprise when they put you at the top of their innovation list.”
Meanwhile, eight brands that appeared last year, were seen as “inactive” regarding innovation this year, they include: YouTube, HBO, Uber, Lyft, Tesla, GM, Airbnb, and LinkedIn.
“There’s homogeneity to categories consumers rated as relatively inactive, which provides confirmation of their normalized expectations for what they view as innovative,” noted Passikoff. “Besides always wanting more, consumers see brands abilities to deliver something that emotionally engages them as the gateway to innovation.”
Also Read: Loyalty Discount or Loyalty to the Discount?
Consumers Engage with Brands that Inspire
The 2019 list makes it clear that consumers are looking for innovation that inspires. Brands that can, will transform their categories and the future of marketing. “Innovation always distinguishes between category leaders and brand followers,” said Passikoff. “Brands that want their innovation to engage consumers will have to be more nimble, inspirational, and emotional.”
Mike Giambattista is Editor in Chief at The Wise Marketer and is a Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP).
