Brand Loyalty refers to the extent of faithfulness and dedication that customers extend to a particular brand, by making purchases from the same brand. It is all the love and trust that your regular customers throw your way in the form of repeated purchases. It is their way of saying, ‘Hey! Your products and services are extremely satisfying and fulfilling for us. And as long you maintain the same standards, you need not worry about us shifting over to your competitors.’

And yes, this is true. An undeniable mark of Brand Loyalty is your customers hanging in there with you, while simultaneously resisting, or not at least not being drawn in by the marketing strategies and the pressure generated alongside it by your competing brands.

Ways to evolve brand loyalty

The Digital world offers more ways to evolve brand loyalty for your business, musings in the following.

Social presence – a more humane level

It cannot be emphasized enough, but you cannot neglect social media. Social Media/Professional network Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter, are probably where the first interaction between your brand and your prospective customer takes place. Make sure you create an impactful first impression.

Keep an eye on What’s Trending. When your customers see that you are actively participated in a movement say, for social change, it will endear you to them, and they are more likely to support you and your brand ideology.

Example – A lot of companies participated in and promoted the #METoo movement. They kept their profiles updated with relevant posts. This became a way for the companies to connect with the customers on a more human level, as an organization that is sensitive to its socio-cultural environment, and not just a corporate company trying to make money. As opposed to companies that do not participate in the current dialogues, brands that engage are more likely to develop a loyal customer base.

Customer Service – Go Extra Mile

Again, this is something that cannot be overlooked in the current market scenario. There will always be other brands who are selling the same product that you are selling. Some might even be selling better quality. Some might be offering a lower price for the same product as yours. In the end, it all comes down to not what is being sold, but the way it is being sold and how customers’ concern/support needs are taken care of.

Be honest and transparent about the specifications of the product you are selling. And this involves making customer reviews and feedback (both good and bad) available to the customers. If you don’t do this, the customers are only going to believe that you tricked them into buying products that were not up to the mark, and then you can wave those customers goodbye.
After this, comes the most commonly understood aspect of Customer Service – After Sales Service. If your customers see that you are not leaving them midway as soon as they make a purchase, but you are right by their side even a year after they made a purchase, your customers will be glad and proud of their shopping choices.

Example – Zappos is a pro when it comes to scaling the Customer Service domain. Their No-questions-asked-return policy goes an extra mile to ensure that customers are well satisfied even if it means a loss for the business in the short run. Earlier in 2012, Zappos made history when a single Zappos representative resolved a customer’s problem through a 10 hours 28 minutes long Customer Service Call. You can find more stories about great customer service here.

Referral Programs – Instant & Real-time

Some of the ways to go about this are by offering your customers a chance to earn points by becoming a member of your community, signing up for your Newsletter, making purchases, etc. Offering rewards under a Referral Program where both – your customer and the one they refer your brand to, earn points that can be later redeemed on your website.

These are additional incentives for the customers that will make shopping with your brand, a more lucrative option for them. Also, when they refer you to their friends and acquaintances, it is a kind of unpaid promotion that is more powerful than the paid advertising campaigns you engage in.

Example – MyChelle Dermaceuticals developed an intriguing Clean Beauty Club for its customers to become a part of. In September 2018, as they launched the Club went on air on their website, alongside it they also offered their customers points for signing up for their Club and, earning more points by posting reviews after their purchases, following and sharing the brand on social media platforms and redeeming all the points made as discounts on their purchases. What is happening is that to earn more points to get discounts, the customers are promoting the brand on social media.

Communities – Your Small World

Brand Loyalty is all well and good. But it fades away quickly if it is not sustained. Therefore, to ensure that the customers who are loyal to you, stay loyal to you, you need to work to get them together into communities. These communities, established online as clubs and groups, allow all customers who are loyal to you, to connect. It creates what in the Entertainment world is called Fandoms. And as you know, fandoms intensify and increase as people come into contact with others who have similar interests as theirs. Similarly, your customers would attract more people.

And the thing about word-of-mouth or promotion through communities is that they are more believable, and hence, are more likely to fetch you customers as compared to leads generated from other sources.

Now, imagine a scenario, where a customer comes across a post of yours on social media. And they go through the comments, and what they find is many people from different walks of life, and various locations, all talking about your brand and saying how fulfilling your services have been. Now that is something that will encourage them to try out your website.
Therefore, Community Building is a crucial part of the process of building Brand Loyalty. It is not separate from but is an intricate part, almost a by-product of the latter.

Events – Meet People

An event is your way to amplify brand, personalize it and make it reach to your customers, your people!

Whether you are a non-profit organization or a large consumer brand, hosting an event allows you to offer experiential engagement. Your customers as attendees will experience all stages of the event life cycle, i.e. pre-event, event-day and post-event and feel their connection with the brand and their net worth.

During the event, you also get to run surveys and gather insights for your products and services.

We had recently written how to promote your event for free in 35 different ways.

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Santosh Panda

Co-founder & CEO
www.Explara.com

Explara offers a suite of software products for Event Ticketing & Registration, Online Selling & Payment Solution, Crowdfunding & Donation, and Community & Membership. 

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