Valued Input: Consumer Feedback & Brand Loyalty

Throughout my journey as an adult, I’ve quickly noticed the common trend that a good number of humans tend to fall under. It goes back to basic communication. Actually, I can recall being taught this lesson as a kid. During my carefree days of childhood, there were countless times I can remember being reprimanded by my parents or grandparents for my wrongdoings—in most cases, my smart mouth was the cause of it. Within an instant, WHAP! Within the bat of an eye, I’d receive the most swift tap on the lips as if it were the great Muhammed Ali on the other end of it. “You’ve got two ears and one mouth for a reason,” I was reminded.

Hear me now!

Bringing that saying into my adult years has allowed me to understand people and psychology more. To sum it up, the majority of people just want to be heard. People get in arguments 24/7 simply because they want their input to be seen as of some sort of value. With that said, consumers have this same outlook in terms of dealing with brands. Spending their hard earned money with a company not only is an exchange, but it's a sign of commitment and trust in the product satisfying them within the designated area in which they need.

March Madness

Speaking from experience, while working with the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team, there was a large campaign around our 20th anniversary of our 2003 National Championship team. The campaign was designed around one specific home game within the middle of the season that would allow for members of the 2003 team to attend.

Recognizing the difference in years from 2003 to 2023, it's understandable that the Syracuse fan since 2003 has changed a bit. What was it about those years that attracted the fan? What spoke to their fan experience? In order to gather more information and experience the best turnout possible, we ran numerous sub-campaigns leading up to the event. Content and events such as fan trivia, a watch party, submitting questions for their favorite players, a historic content rollout, and feedback on games-to-date were implemented. As a result, we experienced our record attendance for the year, boosted ticket sales, and increased in-venue purchase revenue, and won the game as the icing on the cake.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how much product you sell or how many items you have to offer—if your consumer doesn’t feel appreciated, they will quickly find a brand that gives them that feeling. People exist without products; products don’t exist (nor sell) without people. The quicker brands begin to pay attention and listen to the consumers, the more opportunities they’ll open themselves to in the future.