Is Brand Loyalty Gone?
For as long as there have been businesses, there have been loyal customers. Our parents or grandparents might have shown brand loyalty for the best part of their lifetime. However, as consumers in today’s increasingly saturated market, we are considerably more unpredictable, thus periods of loyalty are growing shorter.
Consumers today are rarely unequivocally loyal to a single brand. And why would they be? With so many options and discounts to choose from, as well as the ability to jump ship at the click of a button, being open to switching brands if something better comes up makes sense. So is brand loyalty completely dead or has it just become more difficult to maintain because there is more competition and customers have higher expectations?
The fact that today’s consumers are more open and adventurous than ever means that they are up for grabs, in fact 73% of today’s shoppers are willing to consider a new brand. This is why engagement and providing continued value are so important in obtaining and maintaining customers. Before we call time of death on brand loyalty, we must consider the evidence out there which suggests that brand loyalty is very much alive.
Offering a high quality product is essential, but consumers expect even more. Value for money, customer service, a unique selling point and the core values of a given brand are all factors which influence buying decisions and loyalty. According to a recent study conducted by Criteo, 51% of shoppers say that brand values affect their purchase decisions. Consumers align with brands that share their beliefs; therefore the importance of values should not be overlooked.
forced to evolve continuously. Long-held assumptions about customer behavior are off the table, and marketing strategies that were once phenomenally effective are now obsolete (1). Brand loyalty will continue to ride the rollercoaster of highs and lows, especially under the influence of developing technology.
Who knows what brand loyalty will look like in 20 years. Are you prepared to keep up with the evolving consumer?
(1) Annex Cloud (2018) Is Brand Loyalty Dead? Whitepaper: https://www.annexcloud.com/is-brand-loyalty-dead-white-paper
