What is brand loyalty?
It’s a consumer’s consistent and ongoing preference to buy a product or service, or shop in the same store, buy the same washing detergent – to walk past other brands on shelves and go for the same one they have always known and bought.
What influences brand loyalty?
This can extend beyond rational and economic factors. And yes this can be related to habit, and lack of education for new, improved brands for that product or service. For those in marketing, it comes back to the top three factors for brand loyalty: excellent customer service, good high quality products and promoting the consumers/ engagement with the brand – a positive buying experience is key.
But brand loyalty has changed.
The days are gone when people would ‘only drive a Ford because their grandparents did’ as stated in Forbes last year.
They went on to state some facts, and how Gen Z has changed buying habits:
• 57% of Gen Z are less loyal to brands now than they were pre-pandemic. This statistic can probably be partially attributed to the extreme shift in the economy, as consumers are weighing their priorities and determining whether or not certain products or services are worth the price tag, and Covid-19, however, may not be the only factor to blame, as many
Millennials and Gen Z had previously indicated wariness of large corporations and over-the-top marketing ploys.
• More than 1 in 3 customers aren’t loyal to brands. Consumers overall appear to be more willing to shop around than previously thought. This doesn’t necessarily mean that repeat customers and clients cannot be earned. It does, however, indicate that gaining and retaining customers is more difficult and less common now than ever before.
• 77% of Gen Z adults are willing to try new brands. This is much higher than all other age groups. This tells us that not only are Gen Z adults no longer committed to a specific brand, but they will actively look for alternative brands in order to receive the level of service and quality that they are searching for. Gen Z asks more of their products and services and expects a level of quality. If brands fail to provide that quality or service, consumers have no issue with going with a smaller, lesser-known company.
Read the full Forbes article here
So is brand loyalty dead?
No. Not yet, anyway, according to Jamie Brighton at Adobe, EMEA director of product marketing” All you need is love. And trust. And convenience.”
Jamie spoke at The Drum Live recently and explored how marketers can get customers to say ‘I do’ and build enduring relationships through experiences, campaigns and content.
So how can we commit to the changes and evolve with our consumers? Brand loyalty has evolved and is more complex to sustain than it once was. Mainly due to these simple changes that brands should embrace:
Consumers have higher expectations. They expect personalised experiences from brands and are more likely to switch brands based on price, quality, and convenience.
Brands need to adapt. They need to adapt their strategies to meet consumers’ evolving needs. Aligning with consumer values, nurturing genuine relationships, using personalised messaging, gaining trust.
Brand loyalty is still important. It still plays an important role in the marketplace. Many consumers say they’ve held relationships with specific brands for 10 or more years.
So what do brands have to do? Modify, reframe, adjust to the modern consumer’s needs. Adjusting is key.
How do YOU build enduring relationships?
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