Brands and commodities, 2 simple rules

From Brands Create Customers:

Brands and commodities: two rules

1. Brand: The shortest distance between customer and company.
2. Commodity: The shortest distance between customer and price.

Rules:

1. When the brand is strong, customer and company are one
2. When commodity is strong, company and customer are done.

Coda:

If you’re in it for the money, your customers will be in it for the price.

Bingo! The company and customer's motivations move together, the more focused on profits the company is, the more focused on getting the 'best deal' the customer is.

On the flipside, the more customer-oriented the company is, the more brand-loyal the customer will be.

Check out Brands Create Customers, a great read!