A whopping 46% of consumers state that they’re more willing to try new brands, as opposed to five years ago. How do we retain brand loyalty?

Who’s changing the game?

It’s the local re-branded mom and pop stores that are burrowing back into the race, the unheard-of ecommerce brands that are conquering their niches, the bootleg brands that are convincingly championing their discounted wares, and the millennials that are bridging the gap from farm to doorstep.

Although brands realize this and are doing everything in their power to reverse or curb customer attrition, they’re often throwing money at elaborate marketing strategies without ever identifying the most important starting point – the reason.

Why Are Consumers So Quick to Switch Brands?

Almost everyone is looking to consider new brands to try, daily.

So, what’s changed in the last decade? What’s changed, socio-economically, that introduced this new frenzied consumer behavior?

• Rising income levels: In developed countries, and developing countries, too, rising income levels and spending capacity have been two big de-risking factors in trying out new brands.
• Unlimited choices: In a market where consumers have unfettered access to products and services online, on ecommerce stores, at supermarkets, hypermarkets and farmer’s markets, brands have to constantly vie for the customer’s attention.
• Reducing brand halo effect: What’s becoming evident, is that consumers are much less hooked on familiar ‘household name’ brands than before, which spells a large opportunity and good news for newer brands, and sends a signal to heritage brands, that the trust ties are giving way.

How You Can Boost Your Brand Loyalty: 3 Key Methods

So, what can you do to boost your brand loyalty?

1. Reward Brand Loyalty

Rewarding loyalty is not new, but it’s definitely still important in 2019.

Never take your most loyal customers for granted.

Make them happy. Keep them coming back for more. Continue reminding them why they picked your brand in the first place!

However, the kind of loyalty program you pick, and the way you execute it, are as important as having one in the first place. Many brands have tried, and failed, to craft a truly successful loyalty program – but an industry-leading, insightful agency could help you with that. You could also get inspired by Starbucks, American Express, Marriott, and others, that have some of the most successful loyalty programs in the world.

2. Morally Align with Your Customers

A good number of consumers are now likely to boycott or replace a brand if company values and messaging are ot in line with their own. A further multiplier to this is that 24% of global consumers are reviewing products across broader ranges than ever.

3. Don’t Skimp on Your Research

The current customer demographic is wildly changing on all fronts – habits, spending power, political views, environmental consciousness, lifestyle choices, and more.

Stats and findings that may have been the basis for all major marketing tactics, and held true for decades, are now collapsing. Here are a few interesting facts:

• For the first time in a century, more millennials are now choosing to live with their parents
• Consumers now crave more face-to-face interactions. They crave purpose and community.
• 88% of consumers say they’re more likely to shop from retailers that deliver personalized experiences
• It’s not enough that you’re on the bandwagon of selling ‘authentic experiences’, brands now have to ‘prove’ their authenticity

So, just ‘selling’ the USP (unique selling proposition) of your business isn’t going to cut it anymore. Instead, you need to repurpose your brand, to assimilate the specific experiences, missions, and visions of your customers for them to see your value.

Start Reimagining Your Brand’s Potential Today

TOMS Shoes is pioneering social entrepreneurship in ecommerce.

Rogers Communications created a Facebook Messenger chatbot for customer service.

Visit Indy got an impressive 3x click-through rate on Facebook ads with persona-based UGC (user-generated content) videos.

The balance lies in embracing change to stay relevant in the current landscape (like the brands above), and partnering with the right agency that understands your brand, your potential customers, does their research, and knows how to deliver killer strategies.

E29 Marketing named in Best Brand Strategy Companies of 2020 according to TopBrandingCompanies.com