The Loyalty Loop
Fake apologies: A trend that erodes trust
3-5 minute read
As much as I'd like to name and shame about 50+ businesses that harassed my inbox and feeds with fake apologies in the last month, I figured I would turn lemons into lemonade.
In this issue of The Loyalty Loop, we look into why following the latest B2B trend that worked for one brand, but likely does your brand more harm than good.
The trend in question: Fake apologies
If you're considering it, don't. Trend hopping trades short-term attention for long term trust. Strong brands don't chase relevance, they express it consistently and build brand loyalty with it. If you lie to your customers, even whilst trying to be humorous, it can cause severe consequences down the line.
When Apologies Work: KFC UK
Brands apologising to their customers is not out of the ordinary, and in many cases it is favourably looked upon if done in the right circumstances. One campaign that comes to mind is the famous FCK UK ad, where in 2018 KFC ran out of chicken due to massive delivery problems. An absolute disaster which led to hundreds of stores needing to close.
In a pure marketing masterstroke, they addressed the problem, told their customers what they were going to do to solve it, and used edgy humor typically not associated with the brand.
Take note: this wouldn't work for everyone, but people in the UK viewed this as sincere and it created stronger goodwill and loyalty for the brand owning up to it.
Consistency Beats Novelty
Customers don't bond with novelty—they bond with meaning and cultural association. A clear point of view, repeated over time, builds familiarity. When brands jump from trend to trend, they interrupt that repetition.
The result is cognitive friction, and ultimately customers stop recognizing you, or stop being your customer altogether. When recognition drops, so does recall, preference, and ultimately retention and loyalty.
Trend Hopping Is Costing You Brand Loyalty
Trend hopping, or chasing every viral format, meme, or platform moment looks like relevance. In reality, it often signals insecurity and can drive away more customers than you try to retain. Brands that constantly pivot their voice to match the latest trend teach customers one thing: this brand doesn't know who it is.
Loyalty depends on recognition and trust, and both erode when your identity changes weekly.
Trends Dilute Differentiation
Trends are, by definition, a trend. They are shared between many. If everyone adopts the same language or stunts, that differentiation collapses. What made you unique gets replaced by what's popular.
When your brand is in a crowded market, sameness turns you into a commodity, which could force you to start competing on price over brand.
The Rule of Fit
Next time you are thinking of doing some marketing to adopt a trend, ask three questions before jumping in:
Would our best customers expect this from us?
Will this still make sense in six months?
Does this reinforce our core image?
If the answer isn't a clear yes, don't do it.
Bottom Line
Trend hopping trades short-term attention for long-term trust. Strong brands don't chase relevance, they create it by providing consistent value and quality. Loyalty isn't built by keeping up with culture. It's built by standing for something and showing up the same way each and every time.
And if you are apologizing for something, look to KFC UK's example. They nailed it.
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