Do you know what the “fan phenomenon” is? In this case study of the well-known Harley Davidson motorbike brand, we are going to explain how to build customer loyalty and turn them into fans. Harley Davidson is one of the brands that has been able to turn its customers into fans. Among other records, Harley Davidson has managed to become the most tattooed brand in the world.
Without a doubt, a customer who is capable of getting a tattoo of our brand is a real fan.
Harley Davidson is not the only brand that has managed to have fans. Apple, Walt Disney, IKEA and Starbucks have managed to turn their relationship with their customers into a real fan phenomenon. The question we ask ourselves is: what makes a customer become a fan?
Building customer loyalty and converting them into fans: 3 key elements
The first element that we find in all brands that manage to fanaticise their customers is IDENTITY.
For the customer – fan the brand is an important part of their personality and is a way of building their personal values.
As its former president in the 1980s, Richard F. Teelink, said, “We don’t sell motorbikes. We sell the possibility of a 43-year-old accountant wearing black leather, riding around small towns on his Harley and scaring the hell out of people.
Another example of how a brand can help build the personal identity of its customers can be found in Apple and its famous Think Different advert aimed at “the crazies. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who go against the grain. Those who see things differently”.
The second element that we find in all brands that manage to generate fans is COMMUNITY.
Continuing with the Harley Davidson example, owning a Harley allows that 43-year-old accountant to drink beers with other tough, badass buddies like him, all dressed in black leather “chupas”, jeans and cowboy boots, travelling slowly through towns, being scary and making a lot of noise”. The third element that makes a customer become a fan is COCREATION. The fan is not a passive consumer of the brand, but contributes to its development and is an active part of the creation of the product itself.
No two Harleys are the same, each owner builds his own bike, investing in all kinds of parts and accessories.
Another curious example of Co Creation is Ikea hackers, a community of IKEA fans who have developed alternative applications for the Swedish firm’s furniture.
Undoubtedly, having fans rather than customers is a great strength for any brand. But be careful, because having fans also implies important responsibilities.
Somehow, when your customers become fans, your brand ceases to be entirely theirs and you have to be willing to share ownership with your fans. And a snubbed fan can be much more problematic than a dissatisfied customer.
IDENTITY, COMMUNITY and CO-CREATION are the three pillars on which a brand is built to fanaticise its customers.My question to you is: What are you doing in your company to convert your customers into fans? Do you know how to build customer loyalty?