[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/03\/08\/innovation-brand-loyalty\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/03\/08\/innovation-brand-loyalty\/","headline":"Put your customers at the heart of your innovation to drive brand loyalty","name":"Put your customers at the heart of your innovation to drive brand loyalty","description":"When you're looking to increase brand loyalty, think about \"story doing\" instead of storytelling. Learn how ASICS ramped up loyalty by focusing on CX.","datePublished":"2017-03-08","dateModified":"2021-10-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/michele-hackshall\/#Person","name":"Michele Hackshall","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/michele-hackshall\/","identifier":206,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cdfe601f4ea5e7c5a9fda497cdadd4aff1b27d52bacb8d397bdbf72005c2b4d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cdfe601f4ea5e7c5a9fda497cdadd4aff1b27d52bacb8d397bdbf72005c2b4d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/T1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/T1.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/03\/08\/innovation-brand-loyalty\/","about":["B2C Commerce",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/customer-engagement-marketing\/","name":"Customer Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q5196451"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},"Retail Trends, Data, News",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":595,"keywords":["Brand Loyalty"],"articleBody":"When you think of ASICS, most likely the first thing that comes to mind are running shoes. The company, however, recognizes that customers are after much more – and arguably has\u00a0done so since it first started trading.\u00a0\u201cOur brand writes its story by itself. The story is amazing. The backbone is strong: how can we make people excited and enjoy life,\u201d says Thomas Wasser, global CRM lead for ASICS.\u00a0Perception is critical for brands. \u201cAs a brand you have a perception of what you\u2019re delivering. We think we are providing the best products,\u00a0but the consumer experience isn\u2019t matching what we\u2019re thinking.\u201dFocus on CX, see brand loyalty soarASICS is striving to chip away at that gap to make it smaller and smaller. It is\u00a0focusing more and more on the customer experience, through programs that encourage engagement rather than product sales. This marks a shift for the company, and demonstrates not only its\u00a0understanding of a disrupted marketplace, but its acknowledgement of the disruptive economy. \u201cIt\u2019s not really about digital transformation. It\u2019s a consumer-centric transformation,\u201d Wasser says. Consumers switch brands more easily now and their expectations constantly moving higher. As a result, the biggest threat isn\u2019t coming from competitors, but from disruptors like Uber and AirBNB. These are the companies that set the benchmark for customers by highlighting\u00a0 the benefits of a great online experience. The challenge therefore is for ASICS to get conversations started and build connections with consumers. Wasser refers to this as not storytelling, but story doing. \u201cWe need to live the story and ensure it cascades.\u201dFor example, they asked marathon runners what products they buy. Nearly half answered ASICS \u2013 good result, right? \u00a0Further digging uncovered that the purchase wasn\u2019t driven by a love of the product, but because it was considered the best. There was nothing wrong with it, but the problem was simply that customers\u00a0didn\u2019t feel a connection to the brand.\u00a0\u201cIf a competitor comes along with a parity perception that doesn\u2019t even have the same quality, then the customer is gone,\u201d Wasser said. ASICS is now working not just to stay in the consideration mindset of consumers but to\u00a0build that bond. Achieving this starts with self reflection by the brand to be authentic and honest. Instead of asking \u201cwhat\u2019s best for the company,\u201d they ask \u201cwhat\u2019s best for the customer.\u201dCustomer engagement strategyBuilding connections starts with engagements. The goal at this level is to identify a customer\u2019s individual goals and then helping them achieve it. \u00a0By engaging customers and helping them find a new goal, such as trying a new sport or achieving a faster marathon finish time, ASICS is helping customers, not just selling to them. This is accomplished through the creation of programs such as Pace Club, starting running crews and clinics, and the recent acquisition of Runkeeper. To make this transformation successful, key strategies have been undertaken around the globe. ASICS is providing training in very region to make sure everyone understands the intelligence the brand gathers and what it can provide. To do this successfully, they\u2019ve acknowledged that a global approach can\u2019t ignore the need for localization. This means that alignment across regions and clearly delineating the objectives and deliverables is critical. \u201cSharing best practice sharing is much easier now,” says Wasser. “We can really start working together as regions, instead of competing.”Don\u2019t miss out on all the great panels, insights and thought-leadership from SAP Hybris LIVE: Digital Summit 2017! Binge-watch the replays now!"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2017","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"03","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/03\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/03\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Put your customers at the heart of your innovation to drive brand loyalty","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/03\/08\/innovation-brand-loyalty\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]