The Orbea Chronicles: Part 3 – The Conclusion

The last week or so, I’ve been discussing my girlfriend Toni’s quest for the perfect bike. I’ve identified why she bought the way she did and what could have happened to make Toni a “cult-like” follower for the brand. I won’t go into detail, you can go back and read for yourself. But, I’ve had a lot of response from this series and have been asked to elaborate a little on some key points.

Toni has actually commented on the part two post with some great insight into her thought process and what she would have liked to see post sale. I found something very interesting in what she said. “Especially as an athlete new to cycling, it would have been very exciting to have received an email from them. It would be great to have some sort of communication to interact with them and be able to ask questions.” This quick statement has completely proved my theory on the transition of power in the marketplace. There is a HUGE transition from marketers “pushing” messages to consumers “pulling” information that is pertinent to them as an individual. Consumers now want to be engaged in a conversation and have a voice in a relationship. Toni’s want to have a conversation with Orbea, is a natural occurrence and a change that we, as marketers need to adapt to.

So, How Do We Adapt to These New Communication Styles?

In Part 2, I outlined a few strategies Orbea could’ve taken to move Toni from excited customer to a passionate brand advocate. As I pointed out, the end goal for the brand is to integrate itself so deeply into the lifestyle of the customer that the brand begins to define the customer as a person. With that being said, I have broken down a strategy that Orbea could’ve taken to create this level of advocacy.

5 Strategies To Personality Defining Brands

Social Branding Strategy - Great results come from great strategy. Knowing what to say, how to say it, and who to say it to, puts your brand in a very powerful situation. Whether continuing a relationship from post sell to advocacy or reigniting a lost relationship in the social sphere, you need to know who you’re talking to, how to engage, and how to build the brand position.

Cult Creation - As illustrated by @Big Boy “The first rule of Orbea Club is - you do not talk about Orbea Club.” This is exactly the mentality you want your loyal followers to have, especially in the cycling community. To have a sense of belonging to a specific culture or community, really enhances certain emotional aspects tied to the purchase. Creating and engaging in these communities online will continue the culture creation as well as fuel the already burning loyal fire.

Viral Campaigns - Brands don’t go viral by themselves. It needs power, a voice, and a following. By simply creating a platform and empowering your loyal following, you can create a viral awareness that no advertising could mimic. These strategies could include having a YouTube channel and having seasonal Orbea Rider contests. Showing how Orbea fits into their life. How does cycling effect the rider and their world.

Interactive -Interaction is a determining factor for customer experience. The more experience the customer endures the more they will be involved. By interacting with loyal followers, you will enhance that loyalty as well as keep your brand on the top of mind for repurchase, cross sell, and up sell abilities. Some strategies for customer interaction could be Orbea branded iPhone or Facebook applications that could track mileage and capture goals. This would give Orbea a chance to engage again with that individual as they’re striving for their goals. Other strategies…Twitter Contests, Blogger Outreach, Orbea Trail tracking on Google maps, How to ride Wiki’s, etc.

Network Site Development - The days of one website is over. Networked sites are the future. Messages and components are communicated for highly targeted, highly defined niche segments. As Toni mentioned in her comment “The information on their website is limited, and I would like to learn more about them.” I know, from looking at the Orbea site is that it has tons of information. But what if, Orbea had a Networked Website? A specific page for the Dama TDA outlining every aspect of the bike; How it fits into the Orbea Culture; RSS Feeds from the ‘real time’ blogosphere and social sphere; Give both Orbea Pros and Weekend Warriors voices on the same platform (Orbea Rider blogs - how Orbea helps them compete) & (Weekend Warrior blogs) …

Conclusion

In conclusion…Riders want a voice and to be engaged. Give them voice and you will get advocacy. Enough said. Here’s some more “voice from real riders.” Are you listening?

“I bought it [Specialized Tarmac] because I too am a bike snob and it had the component group Ultegra with Dura Ace rear - you know what I am talking about. It was the frame, components and the paint job. What a great ride and I can’t wait for Spring to get back out there. Emotion runs high…”

- @Dave

“This was the bike [Orbea Onix Dama TDA] that would make me pumped for every single upcoming ride.”

- @Toni

“I know exactly what you mean by brand loyalty, Paul. However, I might put a little different spin on what you have discussed as wearing your brand as a badge. I almost feel like I have a closet loyalty to Giant. I love my Giant road bike, but when I was shopping around for the frame to build it up I felt guilty buying it…But when comparing apples to apples, a light, stiff, and aero frame is exactly that, no matter what the brand. So we can buy based on emotions, and do so without guilt.”

- @Dr JET

Open for Conversation

As always, I am always open to conversation. Feel free to reply publicly with a comment or contact me using any contact information on my “Contact” page. Happy Riding.

The Orbea Chronicles: Part 2 – What Could’ve Happened

As we left off, we saw Toni buy a bicycle, not on the features or components of the bicycle itself, but on the emotions and feeling it elicited within Toni. This type of buying behavior is not new, but one that is overlooked. These emotions are strong purchasing vehicles but shouldn’t be scoffed at in the post sale or brand loyalty stage. With these emotions running high, now is the time to strike to integrate into the consumer’s lifestyle.

Cyclists aren’t like the normal human being. We’re a little more advanced. We use brands to define who we are as a person. The type of bike we ride, the component groups, the kit we wear, all of it says a little more about who we are. Other consumers and industries will make the transition and mold into this model of loyalty. This “cult-like” following will use brands as badges to define personality. The driving factor of this is the permeation of brands in social media. Let’s look at how Orbea, could have used the emotional strength of the purchase process to shift into brand loyalty and advocacy mode to create a “cult.”

Steps to Build a Cult-Like Following

With emotions running wild Orbea could have captured the contact information, model, and size of the bike purchased. This information could have started a series of automated, but personalized communications with Toni.

1. Push and Invite – Using email or a welcome package, Orbea could have reached out to Toni and welcomed her to the Orbea “cult” or group. Given her some background information on the culture and reaffirmed her purchase.  Here Orbea could have invited her to connect through various social media platforms.

2. Wear as a Badge – Coming off the emotional tidal wave of purchasing a $2000 bike with the affirmation and welcoming into the company culture, Toni would now be wanting to tell anyone and everyone about her experience with Orbea. She would then connect on these social platforms, proudly wearing the Orbea badge…allowing the Orbea brand to define a little bit of her personality.

3. Empower the Consumer – With continuous conversations between Orbea and Toni, Toni would become educated and empowered enough to become an advocate for the Orbea brand. During this stage, Toni begins to infiltrate her own social network with the Orbea message and culture, furthering brand awareness with the almighty, powerful word of mouth.

4. Let Go – With a “cult-like” following that these strategies will create, Orbea will have to learn to let go of the Orbea brand and allow their “cult” followers to carry the message forward. This is the hardest step in the process for most companies. But it is the most necessary step to succeed in the new social marketing world in which we live.

5. Rinse, Repeat, & Adapt – New customers are continually coming into the cycle; current customers are continually having conversations with your brand; Communication strategies are continually changing. Stay dedicated to the process, the consumer, and the dynamic nature of marketing and you will succeed with your brand.

All in all, to create a cult-like following for your brand online, you need to integrate your brand into the lifestyle of the consumer. Allow your brand to become an defining factor of one’s personality. Then, and only then, will you find true brand loyalty and advocacy.

Your Thoughts?

What do you think? Would you love a brand so much that you would wear it as a badge? If so, what brands?

The Orbea Chronicles: Part 1 – What Happened

The past couple of weeks has been a very trying one. My girlfriend was in the market for a new road bike for her triathlons. Being an avid cyclist myself, I joined for the ride to help with technical questions, what she needs to look for, what materials, what components, etc. A little background…Toni is very independent, very information driven, and wants the best she can get for her money.

We started looking at entry level bikes around the $1000 mark. Here you find a heavier bike with low level components which is excellent of the entry level rider. Toni is a die hard athlete and wants to be as competitive as possible. Every bike shop we went to told her that she would have to upgrade in a few years to the next level bike, around the $2200 mark. Being a math major, she decided instead of spending a total of $3200 on two bikes in 2-3 years, she would go for the higher price point; all carbon, high level components.

This made me pretty excited…I am a bit of a bike snob. But anyway, being completely information driven like she is, we identified a list of about 15 bikes from different manufacturers and what each offered at this price point. Then we hit the streets. After every weeknight being spent in bike shops asking the same questions, and getting the same answers, I began to lose sight of the end prize…So what did I do? I turned to marketing and consumer buying behavior.

The Rest of the Story (shout out for Paul Harvey)

I sat her down and said, “Toni, each bike that we are looking at is practically the same bike. The same frame material, the same components, the same bike shop service, etc. The bike is a commodity.” And really that’s what any product is, a commodity. I then said, “your purchase decision is going to be based on how that bike makes you feel; the more powerful, emotionally charged a bike makes you feel, the better you will perform. Go with emotion.” So…she ended up choosing an all carbon Orbea. When I asked her why, she said, “I didn’t want to be like everyone else out there with a common brand like Trek or Specialized…I want people to see me as if I had secret, and think ‘Damn, that’s an amazing bike as I pass them!”

The moral of the story…

The product will always be a commodity. Consumers purchase on how that product would fit into their lifestyle and it would define them as a person. We all have an underlying desire to be somebody better. This emotional state drives a lot of our purchasing behavior.
Stay tuned to Part 2…What could have happened to build ever lasting loyalty…