How can I Increase Brand Loyalty?

Brand loyalty seems to be a fleeting concept these days. Customers are willing to jump from one brand to another for a better price, better incentives, or in some cases for a really good advertising campaign. So how can you increase brand loyalty in this type of market. That is a good question and one that deserves a good answer, which as a top web development company, we feel able to provide based on our experience and perspective within the marketplace.

What is Brand Loyalty?

First things first, let’s agree on what we are talking about. Brand loyalty is defined as a pattern of behavior by consumers where they are committed to a brand in both making regular purchases and also supporting that brand over others, in some cases regardless of the price or relative convenience.

There are various strategies that can be used to help create loyal customers. However brand loyalty can also be fostered by consistently providing the best products in a niche, such as how Apple fostered its following behind their iPod, iPhone, and iPad lines.

When someone asks, “How can I increase brand loyalty,” the answer they are looking for is often marketing based where you make use of specific concepts and techniques to help foster a better connection between the brand and the customer. While it helps to also offer the best product at the best price, this is not a requirement to foster loyalty, which really comes down to a feeling of support or allegiance to someone or something.

Tips to Increase Brand Loyalty

• Create a Loyalty Program – This is a tried and true method which has gone from something simple like a punch card to get and 11th item for free after purchasing 10 to digital tracking of points earned from purchases and activities which can be used for discounts, special offers and unique events. Loyalty programs should be digital, promoted on all platforms including social media, and should have rewards that customers will want and utilize if you expect the program to be successful. Plus customers enrolled in loyalty programs are freely providing you contact information which can be used for special promotions and coupons.
• Increased Personalization – Personalization is a great way to foster loyalty as it makes customers feel more connected and that the brand cares about them. This is something that is much easier for a small or medium sized business to accomplish because the customer base is smaller. Greeting customers by their name, either in person or with email messages, sending personalized birthday reminders (not generic), follow-up emails post-purchase inquiring if the product filled the need, and similar concepts can go a long way to making people feel more loyal towards your business and brand.
• Utilize Brand Ambassadors – The idea of brand ambassadors is not a new one, having been around for a few years. Basically these people are customers that like (or love) your products and services so much that they are willing to help promote them via blogs, tweets, and posts on other social media outlets. Often they are people who are smack in the middle of your target demographic, resonate with the ideology of your business, and are very socially active. Asking people to be a brand ambassador will increase their loyalty even more towards your brand and they can in turn increase loyalty with their connections from their passion towards your brand.
• Monitor Feedback – Social media and sites like Yelp are wonderful for many reasons. For a business, one of those reasons has to do with customer feedback and the opportunity it presents. Even in the most ideal of situations not all customers are going to be happy; that is simply the law of averages. However customer complaints and negative feedback offer a unique opportunity for the business to respond. When done properly – which means owning up to mistakes, investigating problems, looking for ways to prevent something from repeating itself with other customers, and even trying to make it right with the person who complains – you are going to create more loyalty with all of your customers because you are demonstrating a willingness to not only listen to problems but then immediately look to resolve them because you do care.
• Social Media – Social media is a perfect platform for increasing brand loyalty. It is a place to connect with customers, follow and like their activities and interests, offer exclusive deals on a specific platform for users of that platform, and really get personal with customers without being too invasive.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that every business should be doing something on a regular basis to try and increase brand loyalty. There is simply too much competition in most markets to not do your best to retain customers. After all, the cost of acquiring customers is much higher compared to the amount of time and energy you could spend on increasing brand loyalty to a customer who has already shown themselves to be receptive to your products or services.

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