Brand Loyalty

It’s been a while since I last posted a blog. Sorry to those who wrote in asking about it and for not delivering this any sooner. Like any new parent and a single one at that, Sebon, my baby is going through the expected stages of any new company.  Sleepless nights are many and already showing signs of teething troubles, nothing to major thankfully but enough to jolt me awake from a deep sleep and forcing me out of bed to make notes or reassure myself on something I may or may not have done.

What instigated my entry was a brief exchange of emails between one of my loyal customers. I had contacted her asking if I could send my newly purchased pump tops in exchange for the caps that she had received in a previous order. At the time of the order I honestly did not have the money to get the pumps I wanted and made do with what I had at hand. I was already aware of the problems and annoyance they had caused customers who although very happy with my product actually wrote in saying that they did not want to miss one drop. Those who know me intimately know how frugal I am, I did not want them to miss any of its goodness either. 

Within the email exchange my loyal client told me that all of her clients were falling in love with Sebon. This made me think for a moment. You see, Sebon customers are not like regular customers, they are aware of the harm chemicals cause in major brand products. They are environmentally conscious, and are owners of organic salons who in turn have clients who are equally as savvy. 

The reason I paused for thought mid email exchange was this. 

It is not my product they fall in love with, it's because of my loyal client that they love because of the passion they possess . Sebon is in line with what they believe in and thankfully Sebon’s product is strong enough to carry that belief home with their salon guests. 

I know I have a great product, my marketing director actually sat me down one day just to make sure that I was aware of how good my product is and if I was aware of its potential. Yes and more so every day as my client loyalty base grows, thank you good people. I truly made these products not for wealth but for awareness! 

In the past few days of my writing this blog there has been a lot of stir in the media with headlines about Johnson & Johnson “announcing a groundbreaking new initiative to reformulate many of its personal care products, including baby shampoos and lotions, to remove chemicals of concern to consumers.” 

Environmental Working Group, EWG for short, is said to applaud J&J  for being a pioneer among the major personal care product companies and taking these bold steps to put their customers’ health first. Give me a frekin break I thought as I read these headlines, with all their money and power  J&J could probably do a lot better than saying they are going to make changes to their formula by 2015. 

Then I had another thought, what do their loyal customers think of this, are they as fastidious as my tiny group of followers? Do they care about the chemicals absorbing in to their blood stream or do they think it a load of horse crap when they are told about the harm it is causing to their health and our Eco system? J&J’s fan base must love the brand because this megalodon of a company have the monopoly in the beauty and care market. Will they be upset about the formula change? Will the prices stay the same are they asking each other?

I do want to thank EWG and Ken Cook for forcing this change and creating awareness, I would like to meet him and shake his hand. 

I however do worry how far they will go, after all EWG’s website is the place to go to look up ingredients, I have many times. In my personal opinion they don’t make fair claims with their ratings system and lack scientific study. They do rely on your funding to give your voice in congress. Just saying!

What am I afraid of?

 I am afraid that they will side with large companies like Johnson and Johnson who may flex their own political power leaving small companies like Sebon who are true innovators left out in the cold because we don’t have the funding to stand up for ourselves. Will they make regulations making it almost impossible for small companies to meet “Gove mental” standards?  Prove me wrong please Mr. Cook!

Look after the small companies too, we may have a winning formulation that sets new standards for the beauty industry and in turn making a difference to brand loyal followers lives!