Juja & Super Metro: a classic tale of brand zealotry

Here in Juja, there are days when the tropical sun is unforgiving, roasting live skin and ironing worn garments with nature’s uncut cruelty. From afar, it spits innumerable, fiery rays, and watches them launch into Earth’s sky with a daunting smile.

The rays strike with insignia; mirages on the wide tarmac and trickles of sweat on faces. In such days, even cold blooded lizards would rather freeze in their own skins than risk basking to heat stress.

But one crop of humans makes the cold bloods look weak – Super Metro loyalists, or should we call them zealots?

Back in the day, when the matatu sacco didn’t fleet its buses in Juja’s terminus, these zealots would brave the elements – scorching heat or frosty cold, and queue for the next bus en route. It still happens today, but less often, now that the company parks a large fleet in Juja’s terminus.

Anyone with a keen eye will catch the bizarre loyalty travellers have for Super Metro. While other matatus stand and idle barely occupied, scores of people walk through Super Metro’s doors and board without batting an eyelid.

In the event there’s no Super Metro available, the zealots will line up and wait till the bus arrives.

Boarding queues

There’s more to this loyalty (now let’s call it zealotry). To begin with is the manner of queueing.

For a loosely supervised queue, the discipline you find on a Super Metro boarding queue is one for the books. You’ll notice there’s a foreign orderliness and calm – a show of the immense trust this brand has earned.

To be sure, even self entitled egocentrics line up with unbelievable composure. It’s like there’s an unwritten rule: the moment you get to a Super Metro queue, you have to contain your rush or selfishness, and stay calm till it’s your turn to board.

At times, the queue grows really long. The one on Tom Mboya Avenue is only rivalled in length by ballot day queues. Despite this, hardly a soul jumps the queue, or defects to other buses.

One would rather bake under the glaring sun, shiver in cold or drench in rainwater; but eventually board a Super Metro.

Uneven playing field

The mystery keeps growing in light of bus fares. Most often, Super Metro’s tariffs change with the time of day, and on average, they’re usually higher. But still, higher tariffs or not, Metro gets the lion’s share of travellers.

This is a sore pain for rival touts. They will often call out on Metro’s zealots, “Ingia hapa na chwani tu, usilipe hio mingi.” (“Board with us, just for fifty shillings. Don’t pay more.”) Their fares remain mostly unchanged, at fifty shillings. It might work, for the few, shaky defectors.

Such is the zealotry Super Metro’s rivals have to contend with. It makes for such an uneven playing field. But deservedly so, since Metro has made a brand image for themselves, so stark and appealing that hardly anyone cares to think of alternatives.

The picture wasn’t always as favorable for Super Metro. There were days when the leading fleets in Juja bore other names. Those were the days Super Metro built a reputation under the shadows of its rivals.

Their legacy today stands tall in the backdrop of unseen labor that went into building a respectable brand. Now every business establishment desires a piece of the loyalty Super Metro enjoys. To find such zealotry is rare. But once cultivated, it rewards bountifully.

The spell of zealotry

One strong ‘perk’ (and downside too) of brand zealotry is that it can be as irrational as the things we do when blinded by the wiles of love and affection. While under it’s spell, reason veers off the rails, and choices narrow down to the one brand.

Gradually, as one consumes the brand’s commodities, they become predisposed to the brand, and eventually grow into a zealot. Once in full blown zealotry, nothing derails the resolve for the brand, not even a hefty price tag.

Whenever there’s a need that calls for purchase, only the one brand is worth a zealot’s money. Purchasing any other amounts to and feels like treason. If you ask why, the much you get for an answer is: because its brand X. For a zealot, that is reason enough.

But for non-zealots who hold no allegiance to brands, this unyielding loyalty seems illogic. They might even attempt shaking a zealot’s perceptions on endeared brands, but it certainly ends futile.

Zealots don’t crack easily! Changing their convictions has got to be one of the most arduos things you could ever do.

Toss, Starbucks, Samsung, Apple

For instance, here in Kenya, there’s a certain crop of people that won’t toss a piece of clothing into water, unless it’s got ‘Toss’ the detergent. Despite endless marketing stunts by other brands, Toss’s zealots won’t break. This is classic zealotry, considering the company hardly advertises on mainstream media.

Same case goes for caffeine enthusiasts: coffee only tastes and feels like Starbucks. The brand’s name and value probably make its coffee taste a lot superior.

Onto phones, and two brands boast a loyal customer base. We know the brands and how they’re well spoken of by their zealots.

First goes Samsung, often accused of packing lesser features in their handsets, and selling at higher prices than competitors. With this in mind, dare a Samsung zealot to buy another brand for more features, and you’ll get a stern refusal. Even when the trade-offs are clearly visible, their loyalty won’t shake.

Also, don’t you think of arguing Apple’s overpriced iPhones or the slight design changes the company makes to sell a new series – you might get yourself a restraining order.

So, how did Super Metro and its compatriots cultivate such a loyal customer base?

Build your brand

Well, I believe that the most foundational way to cultivate brand zealotry is standing out in one’s trade, with a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction.

While it may take enormous effort and resources, building a brand and cultivating loyalty will certainly augment the brand’s worth. That’s why respected brands can slap whatever prices they deem fit – they don’t just sell you their commodities, but their valuable brand as well.

Lesson: build a brand that people will respect!

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