Brand Loyalty and Technology

Are you Apple or Android? It's a simple question that's now deeply engrained within the acceptable realms of what we ask new acquaintances.

This loyalty extends well beyond simply the manufacturer of your cellphone however, there's a lot which goes into customer retention and it pays dividends for those who master it.

How much are we missing out on though by standing indivisibly with our faves? Does it really matter any more which camp we choose?

Brand loyalty isn't a new concept by any means. Ford vs. Chevy is the classic which springs to mind when mentioning the topic.

But its importance has gained ground in recent years, fueled in part by a fairly staggering statistic; we are six times more likely, if we use a certain brand for something, to continue using them if they branch out into another category or launch something new.

Six times! Amazon is a great example of this.

They went from being an online bookstore to a global leader in several categories not limited to music and video streaming, cloud services and smart devices for your home. Part of how they did this was customer retention for Amazon as a brand.

Convenience also plays a huge role for what providers we chose to make long term commitments to. Most people keep the same cellphone provider for extended terms, even though changing every couple of years would likely save money. You pay your bill automatically every month, your phone keeps working, you've accepted this arrangement.

The same goes for services like Netflix and Apple Music. You use them every day, they deliver the content you enjoy, why would you switch?

I'm just as guilty of this, let the record show. My iPhone syncs to my iPad which syncs to my iMac, I've paid the "Apple tax" to have a seamless experience and as a result I'm unlikely to stray from that on future purchases.

Today however, interoperability is gaining ground. Remember back when people had Blackberry Messenger and they could only talk to other Blackberry owners?

Those days thankfully are long gone. Standardized text messaging has become the de facto for those of us not utilizing cross-platform services such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.

Even the iPhone's venerable FaceTime service now works across Android and Windows platforms seamlessly. The same has been true for Microsoft's productivity apps, Adobe's creative suite and many more for a number of years; for the average consumer the choice is becoming less critical when it comes to platforms and operating systems.

So what about when you do jump ship?

Well thankfully companies have realized it's in their best interest to make transitioning to and from their products as seamless as possible. On one end, you're more likely to be delighted with a new product if your experience with it is positive right at the start of your ownership. On the other, the odds of you returning to your old brand are increased when moving away from them leaves you feeling un-frustrated. For the end user, it's truly win win.

Truthfully, many larger brands are flirting with the line for becoming what could be considered purveyance of lifestyle products. In my opinion, leverage that! Pick a brand of phone, computer, streaming service, home assistant or toaster which fits your lifestyle and what you're looking for from your technology. What works for you, might not work for someone else, and that's okay! Personally I'll continue to await the day I can iMessage my poor, misguided Android friends. Green message bubbles be damned.

Richard Noble is the founder of Want For Tech, an IT company based in Glasgow.