Unsatisfactory, but stable? Not for much longer!

Today we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty—our relationships. More specifically: the paradoxical phenomenon of being utterly unhappy in a relationship yet staying in it anyway. We’ve all been there with friends—once the guests have left, you find yourself wondering, “Why are they still together, anyway?” Well, there can be various reasons for this: power, dependency, habit… But before you start overthinking it: As always, we want to talk about branding. Because this paradox also exists in the relationship between people and brands. In fact, many customers aren’t loyal because they think a brand is so great (which is what management might believe), but because switching would be quite inconvenient.

This is especially true for services—think telecommunications, energy, or insurance: Just the hassle of transferring data, changing passwords… it makes you grudgingly put up with price hikes and poor service. What’s more, brands like Apple and Google are creating digital ecosystems that are becoming increasingly incompatible with the outside world, thereby exerting power over their customers. But in the long run, people don’t feel comfortable feeling so powerless and forced to put up with it. And just as in our personal lives we sometimes need an outside push to finally walk away, many customers are just waiting to give the brand—which gives nothing but takes a lot—the boot. Well, help is on the way: AI assistants acting as cancellation bots scan contracts, log in and out on the user’s behalf, fill out application forms, and effortlessly transform unstructured data into the new brand’s system. This isn’t good news for brands that still rely on lock-in effects; but it is good news for brands that stand for genuine customer value.

Or what do you think?

Here's the link:https://brandingstrategyinsider.com/2026/08/are-your-customers-loyal-or-just-locked-in/