The Brand Rejection Model: How Loyal Customers Slip Away (and How to Stop It)
A few years ago, my wife and I went to the drugstore to pick up her usual face care products. After years of trial and error, she had finally found a line that worked perfectly for her skin. Change was never her friend in this department; every product switch came with stress and uncertainty.
As we approached the shelf, I saw a mix of confusion and dread on her face.
They had changed everything.
The company had reformulated and relaunched the entire line. The exact product she trusted was gone. The beauty expert told us there’d been little notice, and the line that served my wife so well had essentially been eliminated.
In that moment, she moved from loyal customer to reluctant free agent, forced into a scramble to find a replacement. She’s never touched one of their products again, despite spending hundreds of dollars a year before.
The Brand Rejection Model
I can’t say what the total impact was for that company, but I can tell you they lost at least one very loyal customer that day.
That’s the power of The Brand Rejection Model, what I call the reverse gear of brand adoption.
Let’s break down the five stages of brand rejection, what’s happening both externally and internally, the BrandTruth misalignments at play, and how to fix them before customers walk away.
1. Awareness of Issues
Customer View:
The first cracks appear: delays, quality dips, policy changes, tone-deaf campaigns, or a nagging “something’s off.”
Examples:
A favourite product is reformulated without explanation.
New leadership shifts priorities without communicating them well.
What Might Be Happening Internally:
Leadership changes without clear communication.
Cost-cutting decisions eroding quality.
Frontline insights not reaching decision-makers.
BrandTruth Misalignment:
Leadership ↔ Culture: Leaders aren’t engaging with teams to surface issues early.
Brand ↔ Culture: Internal processes no longer reflect external promises.
The Fix:
Hold monthly cross-functional pulse checks with frontline teams.
Create a rapid-response protocol for quality/service issues.
Audit recent decisions for unintended customer impact.
2. Loss of Interest
Customer View:
The brand no longer feels like “theirs.” Engagement fades, and competitors start looking more appealing.
Common Causes:
Messaging drifts from their values or lifestyle.
Competitors offer fresher, more relevant options.
What Might Be Happening Internally:
Marketing chases trends instead of the brand’s true identity.
Slow innovation caused by risk-aversion.
Overconfidence in past success.
BrandTruth Misalignment:
Brand ↔ Culture: Messaging no longer reflects brand essence.
Leadership ↔ Brand: Leadership isn’t championing relevance or evolution.
The FIx:
Revisit your core value proposition, does it still resonate?
Use customer co-creation sessions to shape innovation.
Refresh storytelling without losing what made people love you.
3. Reevaluation
Customer View:
They start comparing you with competitors, asking “Why am I still with them?”
Triggers:
Misalignment with personal values (e.g., sustainability, ethics).
Perceived decline in innovation or care.
What Might Be Happening Internally:
Brand values not lived out in operations.
Leadership ignoring shifting priorities.
Metrics focused on short-term gains over long-term loyalty.
BrandTruth Misalignment:
Brand ↔ Leadership: Public stance contradicts internal decision-making.
Culture ↔ Leadership: Employees not aligned or empowered to meet changing needs.
The Fix:
Conduct a values-in-action audit: can customers see your values in action?
Train leaders on customer-centric decision-making.
Tie loyalty metrics to leadership KPIs.
4. Negative Experience
Customer View:
A tipping point — poor service, clunky returns, or a defective product — made worse by slow or dismissive responses.
Could Be Amplified By:
Complex, frustrating customer journeys.
Lack of empathy in problem resolution.
What Might Be Happening Internally:
Overloaded or under-trained service teams.
Internal silos slowing resolution.
Outdated systems creating friction.
BrandTruth Misalignment:
Culture ↔ Brand: Experience doesn’t match marketing promises.
Leadership ↔ Culture: Teams lack authority or tools to solve problems.
The Fix:
Empower frontline teams to resolve issues at first contact.
Map and simplify the customer journey.
Use real-time feedback loops to adjust quickly.
5. Rejection
Customer View:
The break-up. They leave, quietly or in a very public way.
Forms:
Quiet disengagement.
Abrupt, vocal criticism.
What Might Be Happening Internally:
Leaders underestimate churn risk.
Defensive culture avoids accountability.
No early-warning systems for dissatisfaction.
BrandTruth Misalignment:
Leadership ↔ Brand: Leaders ignore or downplay perception gaps.
Culture ↔ Leadership: Poor follow-through becomes normal.
The Fix:
Implement churn-risk alerts in analytics.
Review every lost customer for lessons learned.
Publicly acknowledge and address mistakes.
Common Accelerators of Brand Rejection
Not listening to customers.
Losing touch with what made them choose you.
Misalignment to values.
Major changes without explanation.
Friction-filled customer journeys.
Why BrandTruth Alignment™ Matters
The brand rejection spiral rarely starts with a bad product.
It starts with misalignment:
Culture Alignment: Internal habits and priorities reflect your brand promise.
Leadership Alignment: Leaders connect strategy to frontline realities.
Brand Alignment: Every touchpoint delivers what you promise: in voice, values, and delivery.
The BrandTruth Alignment™ Advantage
When Culture, Leadership, and Brand are aligned:
Small issues are caught before customers notice.
Relevance is refreshed without losing brand essence.
Frontline teams turn negative moments into loyalty wins.
Leaders correct missteps before customers reach the point of rejection.
If you catch misalignment early, you can repair trust faster, protect loyalty, and keep customers from sliding into frustration and rejection.
How aligned is your team? Take 5-minutes to gut check your organization’s BrandTruth Alignment™
