Written by: jwturnbull 8/02/2010 2:52 PM
I was out at the organisation that is responsible for Subaru distribution and dealerships in Australia recently, and had an interesting discussion with one of the managers in their Customer First program. We were talking about "loyalty" (simple word, complex concept) and I recalled my one and only Subaru; it was the first of the Outback models. This was a car that I had owned and loved in the mid-90s, and yet I still recalled it with a sense of passion. I found myself concluding that, if someone was interested in a mid-sized softroader even today, I would recommend the Outback. This is despite over a decade having passed by - and the fact that I have happily been driving a different (larger) 4wd from another manufacturer for the last ten years. Logically there must be equivalent or maybe even better alternatives today - yet I would stake my name in recommending the Outback. This led me to wonder - how long does loyalty last? In the absence of a correcting influence, such as a friend having a bad experience, how long might attitudinal loyalty, and even positive word-of-mouth, continue? I'd be interested in other people's comments on this - how far back can you remember a product or service that you would still recommend today?
I was out at the organisation that is responsible for Subaru distribution and dealerships in Australia recently, and had an interesting discussion with one of the managers in their Customer First program. We were talking about "loyalty" (simple word, complex concept) and I recalled my one and only Subaru; it was the first of the Outback models. This was a car that I had owned and loved in the mid-90s, and yet I still recalled it with a sense of passion. I found myself concluding that, if someone was interested in a mid-sized softroader even today, I would recommend the Outback. This is despite over a decade having passed by - and the fact that I have happily been driving a different (larger) 4wd from another manufacturer for the last ten years. Logically there must be equivalent or maybe even better alternatives today - yet I would stake my name in recommending the Outback.
This led me to wonder - how long does loyalty last? In the absence of a correcting influence, such as a friend having a bad experience, how long might attitudinal loyalty, and even positive word-of-mouth, continue? I'd be interested in other people's comments on this - how far back can you remember a product or service that you would still recommend today?
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