Chasing the Fidelity Mirage

In his new book, “Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don’t,” and in a recent CNN Money article, author Kevin Maney explores an interesting phenomenon that can happen while pursuing two key qualities in the customer experience. The tension in his example exists in the space between fidelity and convenience.

Maney defines fidelity as the total experience of something and uses Starbucks as an example of a brand that initially mastered the art of creating an authentic Italian coffee bar culture in the U.S. Convenience is defined as just that, something that is readily available. At the start, there was nothing convenient about Starbucks, but it didn’t matter because usually consumers are willing to make a trade-off between fidelity and convenience. In fact, most successful brands do one or the other.

Here’s where Starbucks ran into trouble. There rapid expansion took something that was a special and unique offering in the marketplace and made it ordinary. Once it became ordinary, it lost its aura and customers began to figure out many other more convenient ways to get a comparable cup of coffee. They were trying to live in a no-man’s land that Maney calls the, “Fidelity Mirage,” and have been scrambling to turn back the clock.

This is a textbook example of how the customer experience defines success or failure. Understanding your customer and what they are looking for from your brand and category are essential to your growth strategy. Nobody can be all things to all people and even the attempt to do so can confuse and frustrate your customers and eventually drive them away.

Starbucks isn’t the first and not likely the last to try to pull off this “Fidelity Mirage”. McDonald’s attempted to offer gourmet foods and failed. It’s ironic that McDonald’s is now offering gourmet coffee. Levi Strauss offered a successful Dockers brand only to almost kill their base, blue jeans business.

The way to avoid this paradox is to fully understand your customer and why they are attracted to your brand. A deep understanding of the customer should drive marketing and growth plans. Blind ambition will only create obstacles such as the chasm between fidelity and convenience.