One of the most powerful motivators known to mankind is fear, but fear does not inspire loyalty.

Presently, COVID-19 has brought the world into a singular vision predicated on uncertainty, loss of control or fear. Most aspects of modern living are being disrupted, experiencing upheaval with unforeseen outcomes.

The worst marketing always exploits fear. The zeitgeist is fear. And, many brands choose to use it with celebrated persuasive tactics like scarcity.

Still, the best marketing always speaks to desire.

Unfulfilled desire informs much of what we fear. But, in a time of great fear like this present moment, there is a correlating human desire: safety, security, belonging, community and peace.

Brands need to name the desire du jour, discover how it applies to their business and act upon it.

At this very hour in the business of travel, desire manifests in the form of the refund. In any industry, when the product becomes untenable for the foreseeable future, the customer does not want to renegotiate or reschedule - they want a refund.

Embrace the moment

So, in travel, we have entered the day of the refund.

Brands need to embrace it because the refund today carries with it far greater brand equity than it did two months ago.

With millions of people anxious and stressed about having to cancel travel plans, the refund becomes a memorable experience; it will mark the end of an unfulfilled life-cycle and it is an opportunity to emotionally connect with the customer.

However, the likelihood is the common customer will soon discover that most brands talk of loyalty as a customer action, not a brand responsibility.

This is evident in how some travel providers are encouraging customers to reschedule their trip, offering scarce windows of opportunity when the fee to change their travel plans will not apply.

The refund process is going to expose the culture of many brands, in the coming days.

Loyalty is an expression of a brand’s culture

Repeat custom is a metric of loyalty, but not the measure of it. Fear can drive repeat custom for a season. Many brands mistake a customer’s commitment to price points for brand loyalty. They are not interchangeable.

Loyalty is an aggregation of positive interactions over time that forms an emotional bond between customer and brand.

By definition, loyalty requires more than a single moment, albeit the essence of interaction must be consistent in each moment.

To achieve consistency across variegated customer touch points, we must reach beyond a list of protocols; we are ultimately speaking of how an internal brand culture is expressed in a customer facing interaction.

How a brand defines loyalty will always be expressed first and, foremost, in their culture.

The refund will expose brand culture

If you want to know the measure of a brand, return their product and ask for a refund. Most of what you need to know about a company, can be revealed in that experience.

Any brand can be helpful, charming, endearing with a touch of whimsy, when they are taking your money. Their demeanor when giving the money back is who they really are.

There has never been a corporate culture marked by generosity and magnanimity that is led by a miserly executive branch.

Ask yourself, what must the CEO be like if the employee, who has no invested interest in the transaction, feels entitled to be tetchy, when you ask for a refund?

As an aside - but relevant to this theme: when considering a job offer, to experience the nature of your prospective employer, buy their product, return it and ask for a refund. There are no places to hide when an organisation is returning money.

Confessions of a traveler

Like many of you, last week, I set about canceling a trip.

• I spent 15 minutes getting a refund for my hotel. They were delightful.
• Three hours getting a refund for my car rental. Less delightful, but I have the refund.
• 45 minutes waiting on a phone to be told that my airline had no policy when it came to the global pandemic, and that in order to reach someone with real “decision power” (their words), I should use the generic "Customer Queries" email.

Real authority came in the form of an automated response. Still, no refund. Appalling.

The opportunity for travel brands

Travel is a unique lifecycle. Each trip is supported by multiple brands. This renders the refund process all the more laborious, but it also provides unparalleled insight as the customer will compare entirely different products, against a single touch point.

Airline, car rental, tours and hospitality will all be judged on a single moment in the context of each other: processing the refund.

In this process, brand equity is a zero-sum game; there will be winners and losers. 

A good experience is made all the more memorable in light of difficult ones.

No one foresaw this crisis. However, the real beauty of this moment is there is an opportunity for every brand.

Brands who have traded in fear and hidden costs can execute a powerful moment of connection by absorbing the uncertainty of the coming months, on behalf of their customers.

Give customers their money back; make it delightful, and they might return in the near future to spend it with you again.