There are some brands that I can't stand: Best Buy comes to mind, American Airlines, Citibank, just to name a few.
I've invested a lot energy into disliking these brands. I tell people about my experiences, share our frustrations and spread the word.
Most brands make the mistake just to embrace their most loving customers: They build loyalty programs, treat them with perks and make it easy for them to stay part of the 'family'.
In addition, brands try to convince the indifferent crowd to come over to the sunny side where all the happy brand lovers are. This is mostly a waste of time since most people don't waste a second thinking about brand unless they hate or love them. Getting indifferent people excited about your brand is a sisyphusian task.
Why not embrace the haters and harshest critics instead? They invested a lot of brain power and emotions into your brand.
Offer them opportunities to express themselves, listen to them, make them part of your marketing plan. What's the worst that can happen? You gather a lot of insights about your critics. You will understand that your indifference and putting up a big walls that people can't infiltrate caused these negative emotions.
And, if you do it right and take your time, some of the haters might come over to the sunny side.
