Customer loyalty is a potent weapon in the modern marketplace — and it’s something that every company wants to cultivate.
However, many brands are finding it difficult to develop and maintain customer loyalty in this fast-moving digital age. As consumers have more choices than ever before and can switch between brands with ease, companies need to work harder than ever to earn their customers’ trust and keep them engaged — especially if they want their business to thrive.
We’ll share our best tips and tricks for inspiring loyalty among today’s digital-first customers, plus examples of brand loyalty from some of the biggest brands for inspiration.
Why Is Brand Loyalty Important?
Brand loyalty is critical to the long-term success of your business — and for good reason, too. Just take a look at the numbers.
- 57% of customers spend more on brands they’re loyal to.
- Loyal customers are 4x more likely to become brand advocates and refer a friend.
- A customer who has purchased from you twice, driving repeat business, is 9x more likely to convert than a first-time shopper.
Brand loyalty can also increase customer lifetime value for your business and strengthen customer relationships, driving business growth. Customers who are loyal are worth more than a new customer that comes in from an advertising campaign or other marketing channel only once.
Do your customers continue to take advantage of your offers? Are they leaving positive reviews when possible? It’s easy to recognize a loyal customer, but encouraging customers to stay with your brand can be tricky. From making sure your customers feel heard to being authentic, we’ll share our best brand loyalty strategies, designed to have an immediate impact on customer retention.
Be Authentic
If you want to build a strong brand that naturally builds brand loyalty, it’s important to be authentic and align with your brand values. Younger generations especially value authenticity and will turn away from brands that don’t seem genuine — 82% of zoomers trust companies more if they use images of real consumers.
Authenticity isn’t hard. To be authentic, companies need to be honest with their customers, always staying consistent with their brand identity and brand values. This kind of integrity naturally builds trust.
Think about the banking industry. Customers want to know exactly what upcoming fees they should expect, how policy changes will affect them and more. Hiding important information behind blocks of jargon will quickly cause customers to lose trust in your brand.
The bottom line? Clear, concise and easy-to-follow messaging goes a long way in winning over your customers’ trust and loyalty.
You can also add an authentic touch to your marketing strategy by turning existing customers into brand ambassadors with user-generated content. For instance, create trust-worthy marketing collateral by leveraging customer reviews and testimonials. Research shows this kind of social proof is powerful — 76% of consumers trust content shared by an individual more than content shared by brands.
Take your user-generated content a step further by combining it with video. We’ve seen first hand how user-generated video content boosts brand awareness, customer satisfaction and enhancing the overall brand experience.
Showing customers your appreciation for their loyalty is always a welcome surprise. But CCP Games took their marketing campaign a step further by giving their players the opportunity to create their very own highlight reel.
Viewers loved handpicking the moments they were most proud of, from points earned to how they stacked up against others. Once their video was customized to their liking, they took to social media to share their video and show off their best moments.
Use an Omnichannel Approach
An omnichannel strategy is key to reaching your target market wherever they are. By using multiple channels to engage with customers, you can stay top-of-mind, monitor customer feedback and communicate with customers and improve customer interactions.
For a truly omnichannel experience, you should make sure your brand is active on social media. From X to Facebook and beyond, social platforms are a great place for genuine customer engagement. Make your brand communications even more engaging by adding visual content to your posts — just as Nike did here (with a celeb mention to boot!).
Another customer touchpoint to pay attention to? Your in-app communications. Streamline customer support by letting customers contact live agents and access chatbots straight from their mobile app. Apple is a great example — the brand offers customer support across all channels, including in-app and even via iMessage.
And don’t forget to use email in your marketing efforts. This continues to be a fan favorite among consumers — our market study shows that 52% of consumers prefer email above all other channels.
Make It Personal With Customer Data
It’s easy for brands to treat customers like another number on a spreadsheet — especially in today’s increasingly digital world. But today’s post-pandemic customers want more. According to McKinsey & Company, 71% of consumers expect personalized experiences. Think about the digital experiences today’s biggest brands offer. E-commerce giant Amazon, for instance, gives personalized recommendations for every shopper.
How do you personalize the customer experience? By leveraging powerful first-party data in your brand strategy. Think about what repeat purchases your customers are making or where they are in the customer journey. Collecting and analyzing data like this is the foundation to creating a unique experience for every customer.
Check out this personalized loyalty video example from Modern America Campgrounds. They even used AI to create the video, which cuts both production time and cost.
One of the most common areas brands leverage this strategy is in their email marketing. Brands often greet customers by name to begin their emails. It’s a simple step that makes a big difference.
Reward Your Best Customers
Give your brand-loyal customers an incentive to stick with your brand by offering a rewards program or similar loyalty program. It builds brand trust and makes repeat customers stronger advocates, boosting advocacy for your brand.
Take inspiration from Starbucks, who offers tons of deals and discounts for satisfied customers who make repeat purchases. Those who sign up for their loyalty program earn special rewards on their birthday, exclusive discounts for reaching certain milestones and more. The brand even offers a referral program with special perks, making it easier to retain current customers and acquire new customers.
Improve Customer Service
As a brand, you need to ensure that your exceptional customer service options are easy to access, available 24/7 and consistent in their execution. Doing this creates positive experiences for your customers that not only drives brand loyalty long-term (along with other key metrics like customer lifetime value, but also positive word-of-mouth marketing.
Here’s a great example of excellent customer service from the mortgage industry, showing customers how they can get value from their home equity. It’s proactive, answering customer questions before they call to ask. Consumers also feel this kind of personalized content demonstrates that the business cards about them personally (as our market study shows year after year)
Here are some other ideas to try out:
- Make onboarding easier by sending out an explainer video covering how customers can use their new product.
- Combine email, phone, SMS and social media channels so that people have several options available when they need information or assistance.
- Create forums where users can connect with each other, fostering a strong brand community, while also surfacing valuable insights for the company.
- Send timely reminders to prevent your customers from missing deadlines or important policy changes.
By focusing on creating positive word-of-mouth publicity among your target audience, providing them with memorable experiences and connecting with customers via social media channels, you can ensure that all aspects of your business are working together towards one goal: delivering an exceptional customer experience.
Boosting Brand Loyalty
Building brand loyalty can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. If you want to keep your customers coming back and recommending you to others, it’s important that they feel valued and appreciated.
Keep them engaged with your brand by giving them the attention they need through social media or customer service channels like email. Encourage your loyal customer base to continue to repurchase from your brand with special discounts and promotions. Or send every customer a video made just for them.
From gaming to banking and more, top brands across industries are leveraging AI Personalized Video to drive long-term loyalty for proven ROI.
Interested? Let’s talk.
