Listen to your customers.

Quaker Oats acquired Snapple in 1994 for $1.7 billion. On paper the deal was thumbs up.

Beneath the surface, it showed how critically important it is to understand a brand’s loyal customers. Quaker believed Snapple could be distributed through the large retail channels that drove Gatorade and its other products.

What Quaker never saw coming was that Snapple’s popularity grew through small stores, independent distributors, and a direct, hard-hitting marketing style aimed squarely at its loyal customers. That oversight drove sales down almost from the start. The brand lost its cachet as loyal customers ran for the hills.

Bottom line
  • Know your valued customers.
  • Listen to them.
  • Serve their needs if you expect to keep their loyalty.

In 1997 Quaker sold Snapple for $300 million, taking a $1.4 billion loss in two and a half years.

Let’s Connect Close Home