How Super Brands Create Super Fans | with Brittany Hodak
Brand to Fan Show Ep26
Unlock the Secrets to Creating Superfans and Boost Your Business to New Heights with author Brittany Hodak
Episode 26:
When Lauren Teague and Brittany Hodak get together, you know some brands' ears are burning! These two are obsessed with fandom in all shapes and experiences. Discover the secrets to transforming customers into superfans with author, speaker, and podcast host Brittany Hodak on this episode of #BrandtoFan Show.
Explore how fandom, CX principles, and compelling storytelling can elevate your brand. In this conversation, you’ll discover how to create a culture of fandom and how it can lead to increased customer loyalty, referrals, and advocacy.
Creating Superfans: Applying Fandom Principles
Brittany's journey in the music industry and her love for fandom led her to develop a powerful framework called SUPER: Story, Understanding customer's story, Personalization, Exceeding expectations, and Repeat. Here are the key takeaways that apply to all entrepreneurs looking to create superfans:
Storytelling: Your brand's story must intersect with your customers' stories to create lasting affinity. Find ways to engage your audience emotionally and authentically.
Understand your customer: Dive deep into your customer's struggles, desires, and transformation. Go beyond surface-level demographics to truly understand what makes them tick.
Personalization: Customize the customer experience by combining high touch and high tech. Every interaction should feel tailored and unique, leaving your customers feeling seen and valued.
Exceed expectations: Surprise and delight your customers by consistently going above and beyond. By exceeding expectations, you have the opportunity to build an identity-based relationship with your audience.
Repeat: Building superfans requires ongoing effort and dedication. Continuously nurture your relationship with your audience, ensuring that they stay engaged, loyal, and passionate about your brand.
Find Inspiration in Fandom
Drawing parallels between her journey as an entrepreneur and her love for sports and music fandom, Brittany encouraged us to infuse the fun and excitement of rock and roll into the business world. Remember, creating superfans is not just about providing an exceptional product or service. It's about forging connections, telling captivating stories, and making your brand a part of your customers' story.
Embrace Your Inner Nerd and Constantly Learn
One of the most fun aspects of Brittany's personality is her insatiable curiosity. She sought to understand marketing and psychology from both a business perspective and a psychological and sociological standpoint. As entrepreneurs, we must never stop learning and exploring. Just like Brittany's quest to understand why we care deeply about certain things, we too must constantly strive to understand our customers, our industry, and ourselves.
When you understand how to create meaningful connections with your customers through shared experiences, and how the power of fandom can help you stand out from the competition, you’ll be convinced to put the Brand to Fan approach into your business.
“Superfans are created at the intersection of your story and every customer’s story.”
The Guest: Brittany Hodak
Brittany Hodak is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and customer experience speaker who has delivered global keynotes to organizations, including American Express and the United Nations. She has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands and entertainers, including Walmart, Disney, Katy Perry, and Dolly Parton. She founded and scaled an entertainment startup to eight figures before exiting, and she is the former Chief Experience Officer of Experience.com.
WHERE TO FIND Brittany:
Connect with Brittany on LinkedIn
Visit Brittany’s website and buy her new book, Creating Superfans!
TL;DL (too long; didn’t listen)
My real-time notes from the conversation with Brittany Hodak
Fandom started early; maybe there were people who weren’t as fanatical as she was — it’s strange that people could casually engage in TV or sports without being all-in.
Looks through a pop culture lens to view anything — depending on the questions you’re asking about what’s popular — need to ask WHY about what the things culture cares about.
How do you make a physical package that helps put the experience of an album release together with something people want to own?
How she’s done it: Take CX principals and add the rock n roll lens
Superfans— people who show up every single time — across businesses.
Super Fans are created at the intersection of your story + your customer’s story
Dispel this myth: “It’s so easy” to build fans.
The ones that have staying power are the ones who have the most interesting story that crosses with their customer’s story.
APATHY is a danger zone // have to make someone care when they don’t have a need to.
SUPER framework acronynm / Story + Understand Customer Story + Personalize + Exceed Expectations + Repeat
Customer Experience isn’t the only way this applies — we can change our employee’s experience and our company culture.
Your brand isn’t your logo — it’s how your employees interact with your customers.
Companies that operate in silos, aren’t working cross functional to identify opportunities — they’re overlooking opportunities to connect through touchpoint.
LEGO elevator was purposefully slow to build an experience, almost like a party for families. Rethink a problem through the eyes of your customer and look for ways to remove the friction, transform into an experience.
Wish they knew — the need for Reciprocity. Superfans want to feel as important to them as you are to them. Hoping to find it, even if they aren’t explicitly asking for it.
When they don’t feel it, they detract and detract loudly. And superfans who detract put a lot of risk on brands.
In this Episode (Time Stamps):
[00:02:50] Fanatical about entertainment and pop culture matters.
[00:05:51] Unforgettable fan experience sparks a quest to understand
[00:09:20] Childhood dreams of working in the music industry or as a ballpark vendor.
[00:12:03] Leap of faith propelled Brittany into entrepreneurship
[00:14:50] Dispelling the myth of easy success in entertainment.
[00:18:07] Be good enough to make people care.
[00:21:13] Framework helps understand customer needs; create superfan.
[00:26:14] Kids ask, Alexa explains, customer experience improvement.
[00:28:34] Branding: Focus on employees, not logo design.
[00:32:30] “Creating Superfans” is an intentionally different book by Brittany Hodak
[00:35:28] Execs ignoring expired mask mandate; missed opportunities to provide relevant info.
[00:38:47] Superfans seeking reciprocity, treat them well.
[00:43:31] Association of clothing with unsavory news stories now questioned.
[00:45:18] Superfan company idea was initially dismissed, but now popular
[00:48:10] Meaningful conversation on fandom; discovering superfans.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FANWEAR ITEM?
The thing that is in my closet today that is my favorite piece of fan wear, I would say is it's not even that old. I just love it. It's an Elton John shirt. That was like a year ago, maybe a little over a year ago — On his farewell tour, he played Nashville.
It is a burnout tee. I got it because I thought it was really cute and it's probably the most comfortable shirt that I own and then it's probably been worn a hundred times in the past year. It is my go to for absolutely everything to the point that my kids will be like, “mom, change your shirt.”
And I’ll say, “I washed it!” But they really question that.
So I'm going to go with my Elton John farewell tour t-shirt.
Show Credits
Brand to Fan Show is produced by Teague FC and supported by FanWagn
Audio production by Bryan Griggs / Griggs Production
Producers: Kimberly Voorhis and Carrie Hellbusch
Video Editing by Garrett Teague
AI assistance from Pictory.AI and CastMagic
And I’m your host, Lauren Teague.
In this episode, we unravel the dance of digital influence with Judson Laipply, the first YouTube celeb who mastered brand longevity!