The importance of brand loyalty to your business
We can define brand loyalty as the extent to which a consumer trusts a brand and relies upon it time after time. It is the slight fear a consumer feels when they have to choose a brand they don’t trust, rather than a brand that has never failed them.
This sort of loyalty is measurable, as we can see how much loyalty a brand enjoys by looking at price sensitivity and the customer’s level of commitment to a particular brand. Furthermore, we can also examine word-of-mouth publicity, repetitive buying rates, and customer satisfaction, as well as the level of brand trust in order to find out if customers are loyal to one brand.
But how long can we expect customers to stay loyal? Well, the answer is usually — for as long as the brand itself is available. If a customer is loyal to one brand, they won’t try to use other suppliers instead. Why? Well, it’s because the loyalty they feel is not a fleeting thing. They’ve found a brand that has the right product characteristics and the right price, not to mention the right quality. As such, even if some other brands are cheaper or are of better quality, the customers will still buy the brand they’re loyal to.
Promoting the brand via loyal customers
Brand loyalty is important, as loyal customers can actually help the brand grow. Since they won’t have to spend a lot of money on marketing as their loyal customers will promote them, the brand can use that money for other purposes. Moreover, that same loyalty can serve a brand well when introducing or launching new products. It will, again, lower their marketing expenditure. It also works as a means of competitor restraint in the market and is a key component when it comes to brand equity.
How to develop brand loyalty
In order to develop brand loyalty, brands have to pay attention to certain factors. For example, those can be quick service or product quality. They can also grow it through continuous improvement and the development of an extensive distribution network.
In any case, when a customer is loyal, they won’t consider another alternative to replace a certain brand. What’s more, their loyalty can go as far as getting a tattoo of the brand’s logo. True Apple customers have done that in the past.
A good example of brand loyalty is Nokia. Its customers in Finland remained loyal to it because they loved the way they had designed their handsets. Nokia focused on the user-friendliness of the design and the menu systems, which helped them breed loyalty all over Finland.
Loyal customers rarely opt for competitor brands
We can also say that brand loyalty is the relative possibility that shows if the customer would go for another brand if the product’s features, quality, or price changed.
It goes without saying that the greater the loyalty, the less likely the possibility of such a shift. Brand loyal customers are known for staying true to a brand, no matter how tempting others might be. They will even pay a higher price if needed and promote the brand as often as they can.
Therefore, it’s obvious that a brand with many loyal customers will enjoy greater sales rates. That same brand will also have to pay less for marketing and advertising, and it will be able to give their customers better prices. Why? More often than not, it’s because loyal customers have recognised some unique value in such a brand. Thus, no matter what other brands do or how low they drop their prices, their loyalty will persevere.
When is brand loyalty developed?
In order for the brand loyalty to develop, customers first have to purchase a product. Furthermore, if a certain brand wants to breed brand loyalty, they first have to know their niche market inside and out. They have to target customers, market their products, make them accessible, and ensure that their customers are satisfied. Most importantly, they have to stay innovative and offer pricing schemes so that the customers remain loyal and repurchase the products as often as possible.
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