I hope that each person in this world has at least one “best” friend. This confidant is always there for you in good and tough times, able to listen, willing to provide advice, advocate for you, or just be there when you fall into challenging times. Best friends are like strong pillars, offering unwavering support and serving as an essential part of one’s support network. Their presence adds joy and fulfillment to life.

Some of us are lucky and have over the years been able to bond strongly with a few more people that have become best friends. Perhaps some communication with your old friend(s) has been less, but when you spend time with your old friends, it feels as though no time has passed, and you can seamlessly continue your lives from where you left off.

It is particularly important to realize that time – itself – is not a measure for true friendships and connections, it is those deep values, memories, understanding, and connection that bond and connect us through time.

So, what if I tell you that some brands are for many people like their “best” friend?

Most people over time are passionate and love specific brands and experiences. I know, for instance, an old friend who was often by herself whilst her husband was traveling, that her enjoyment when she felt alone, was to drink a glass of a specific rosé wine and smoke a cigarette in those lonely evening hours. She often said: “My best friends are my memories of the South of France and a cigarette.” Sad, the cynics would say, but that misses the point. I also do not want to advocate drinking and smoking here, but I do want to say that we find the feeling of love and appreciation in brands and experiences. We all know people who say they cannot start their day with a cup of coffee from Nespresso, Starbucks, or Costa Coffee, for instance.

The lack of these rituals or solutions often makes us feel miserable. Yes, some of you, smart people or cynics will say this analysis is all about addiction to nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine, and to some extent you are right, but there is a part of us all that does link brands to comfort, memories, friendship, passion, and love

I love, for instance, a stay at the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, not all of them, but those I went to in Florence, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles, were memorable and I would recommend anyone to stay there. I also love my Starbucks in the morning, a plain yogurt with Amarena Cherries from Fabbri of Bologna, a fresh herring at Stubbe’s in Haarlemmerstraat in Amsterdam, and my not-so-daily Prada Perfume D’Iris. Rich kid, pleasures for sure. I had many choices and options during my life, but these brands stand out. If I asked my grandma, she would say bread from Ebels Bakery (which does not exist anymore), a Gazelle bicycle, FC Groningen football club, and Spar supermarket.

Do these brands and destinations know that we are passionate about and often love them? Of course not! Can we experience them every day? We try but that is not realistic. But when we do, we often truly love the experience and treasure the time with them. For those of you not knowing these brands or experiences, it might sound strange, but I dare you, that you have your own set of brands, destinations, and experiences that might give you similar emotions, you probably never thought about it. If you do, you can call yourself an Angel Customer when you are passionate or love a specific brand.

This one-sided love and friendship is taken for granted both by us the consumer, and the brands. Somehow, the brands seem to understand there is value to loyalty, see their emails and offers, but truly personalized to me or more importantly recognize me – that does not exist.

We are frequently led to believe that more customers, and data are better. However, in friendships, and potentially for brands, quality might trump quantity. Not in terms of revenue many would say. But perhaps we should look at it differently. Possessing just one devoted best friend or an “Angel Customer” can be incredibly valuable for any brand and should not be ignored. This value is not only the amount spent and frequency, but the Angel Customer will actually advocate and promote. Moreover, they have true insights such as my discussion with an Angel Customers of Coca-Cola who that stated ice cubes are the key to the perfect Coke taste and that some ice cubes make your Coke taste better. Why hasn’t Coca-Cola produced ice cubes for the supermarket for sale, for instance? The company does own two water brands – Dasani and Smartwater.

It almost sets the relationship with all customers if the most passionate and truly loyal is not appreciated what about the rest? Now, consider the immense potential if a brand were to have not just one, but hundreds, thousands, or even millions of such loyal customers. These devoted “best friends” could offer a brand an extraordinary level of value that’s hard to quantify.

Jesta Freak wants to support both the customers and the brands and knows how this can be done. If you have a “best” friend(s) tell us about it and join us on our journey of connecting you to your “friends – the brands.”

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