Brand Loyalty

Creating Brand Loyalty

Have you even wondered what makes you return again and again to the same product or service provider?  I am sure you have heard the term "Brand Loyalty."  But, what is it?

Brand loyalty is defined as the faithfulness of customers to specific brands.  This is demonstrated by their purchasing the same products over and over, regardless of marketing pressure from competing brands. Brand loyalty is more than a consumer's choice to return to the same brand, it is also the perceived value, trust, satisfaction and commitment that influence their decisions.

Benefits of brand loyalty are a longer relationship with customers with less expense of constantly trying to convert customers to your service or product and a lower sensitivity to price.  If customers have a good experiences with your product or service, they will demonstrate their appreciation by coming back for more as well as encouraging others to join them in support of your product or service.

There are four patterns of behavior associated with brand loyalty:

1. Hardcore loyalty, people that will not change, no matter what incentives are offered to sway their decisions.  These are the easiest to market to.  You can keep them happy and returning to your product by adding just a little additional incentive.
2. Split loyalty, where people have two or three brands that they prefer over all others and those are the ones they make their decisions between.  This is a little easier to market to than shifting loyalty and switchers as they are committed to fewer brands. You still need to keep them engaged in your brand though.
3. Shifting loyalty includes people that move from one brand to another, depending on what is available at the time, the price incentives or other marketing enticements.  This type of consumer is difficult to market to and increases your marketing costs because your marketing always needs to be fresh and in front of your competitors.  These people are generally price driven.  It is not about the value of the product or service.
4. Switchers, those that have no loyalty whatsoever.  These are the most costly and hardest to market to as they are not prone to stick with a brand.  They are constantly searching, usually for the best deals to be found in the market or they like to try new and different products

Read on and watch the attached video for answers to this and how to create brand loyalty for your own product or service.

Branding is a unique set of values that induce confidence, create passion and a sense of belonging and security that brings consumers to buy your product or request your services.  The idea originated in ownership, for instance, branding cattle, so others know what belongs to you and you have proof of ownership.

Then, the practice of putting business or personal names on items was initiated.

The brand name for Coca-Cola was worth an estimated $70.4 Billion dollars in 2010. Beginning in 1886, Cocoa-Cola began working on building their brand.  From 9 bottles sold in 1886 to over 1.6 Billion in the year of 2010, they are one company that demonstrates their success in and the value of branding. Yes, they have had a few failures along the way, but they learn from their mistakes and keep on going.

Today, Coca-Cola is a global company with their product placement in over 200 countries where they market over 3,500 products.  Perhaps it is easier to list the countries where Coca-Cola does not have a presence.  In 2012, that would include Myanmar and North Korea as well as Cuba where they liquidated 1960 after the Cuban Revolution.

Some companies get upset when their brand name is used as a verb, for instance Xerox.  It would seem that would be a complement and appreciated with open arms because it is on everyone's lips, an almost constant reminder of your product.

So, what happens if you make an error in marketing to your hardcore, or even split loyalty customers?  Do as Coca-Cola and other top marketeers have shown us.  Stop, look at what happened and take a step or two back.  Go back to what works and don't let your ego get in the way.  Consumers know what they like and want.  You have to follow their lead sometimes. This isn't about you, it is about successfully creating and retaining your customers. This can be true whether you are branding your company or yourself as an individual.  Yes, that is important too.  Think about it.

by Karen Boggs