Attracting new customers and earning their loyalty is hard and getting harder. Customers are fickle and overly informed. In today’s day and age of instant information overload, how can you effectively attract customers and earn loyalty? Technology and social media, have given discerning consumers a lot more to consider when they buy. This makes it very challenging to attract customers and demonstrate the value in paying for your product over the many other substitutes out there. The same goes for earning loyalty. Now with very little time and cost, consumers can get access to a significant amount of information that may too easily lead them to other brands and products. The companies that invest in listening to and understanding their customer’s needs and want will attract customers and earn loyalty. * It used to be that if you were going to buy something, maybe you’d ask a friend who knew a lot about that one area and has already done all the research and can get you informed. However, if you had to do it on your own, it would take time.  You’d do some research and call around to friends and family.  This would take some time and that is a big cost. So clever and kitschy marketing would be sufficient for most companies to attract customers, and loyalty would be easily earned because switching costs would seem high. * Today, however, technology, social media, have given discerning consumers a lot more to consider when they consider the value of what they are paying for. So even if you are able to attract customers to try your product, getting them to see value in paying for your product and staying loyal to your company is more challenging. Today, with almost no time or cost, consumers can get access to a significant amount of information (for better and for worse) to decide whether or not they will buy or stay with a particular product. * Having a meaningful brand still matters, but it isn’t enough anymore. Those brands who are going to rely on the equity they’ve built in the past in their brand are in for a rude awakening. Customers are valuing brand less and less, and good enough for the right price more and more. This is making it much harder to attract customers that are new, and even more challenging to earn loyalty with their core customers. Switching has just become too easy. * Unless established companies ditch the entitlement they think their brand has ensured them, they will lose customers and dollars to companies who invest in the value of listening to what their customers find valuable and investing in and rewarding their loyalty.