Today’s best brands aren’t enjoying success by just selling products.
Rather, they’ve discovered that selling lifestyles and creating powerful customer experiences are the engines to foster the greater brand loyalty and fuel a company’s growth.
As CustomerThink recently put it, “Customers become ‘brand partners’ when companies shift from treating them as transactions to creating addictive experiences which meet and exceed customers’ needs.”
That makes sense considering that when you feel like a brand’s actual partner and find yourself “addicted” to the experience they’re providing, it’s far less likely that you’ll break away in favor of a competitor.
One company that’s discovered the secret to such successful connections is yoga apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica whose brand ambassadors today are so passionate that they’ve created a host of blogs and online communities dedicated to the brand.
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Lululemon seldom puts its products on sale, but has fostered great loyalty by weaving its merchandise and culture into the yoga lifestyles of its customers. Through brick-and-mortar stores, social, web, apps, events and community causes, the company has developed multiple channels through which consumers can craft their own brand experience.
Beyond apparel, Lululemon offers in-store yoga classes, online education and resources on involvement in everything from yoga retreats to the company’s grassroots community philanthropy program. For the first quarter of 2015, this strategy resulted in a net revenue increase of 10 percent, according to CEO Laurent Potdevin.
By going beyond yoga apparel sales and and becoming a hub for yoga lifestyle, Lululemon is showing how a shift from selling products to producing memorable customer experiences can strike a pose for growth.
Consider the ways in which your company could blaze its own addictive CX trail by creating easily accessible ways for customers and prospects to get engage with you and incorporate your brand into their lifestyle.
To read more of AE Marketing Group’s insights about customer experience, simply click here.