Why consumers pick one thing over the other is a constant conversation and could lead to answers like price, service, features, or brand. Purchase decisions are made up of a lot of factors, but brand loyalty is hard to truly explain, and even more difficult to come by.
What is brand loyalty?
The best way to explain brand loyalty is to give examples.
You have two choices. One is Coke and one is Pepsi. Which do you choose? Most people have an opinion in this category. Even though the products are similar in style, value and yes, even taste, people have a preference. I am brand loyal to Coca-Cola because I enjoy the taste, like the brand, and it’s what we’ve always had in the house. My stepmom loves Coke, so I like Coke.
Why are people more brand loyal to my competitors?
Besides the influence of family, there are a lot of other factors that go into a buyer’s choice to be loyal to a brand. A particularly good or bad experience could persuade a consumer, or perhaps something as simple as a point-of-purchase advertisement that makes the decision easier. There are a lot of marketing and operations components that lead into a brand-loyal consumer, like brand-awareness, brand message, proximity to consumer, and availability.
How do I get people to be loyal?
A few suggestions on how to help people decide to be loyal to your company:
- Great customer service: Nothing changes my desire to shop with you more than customer service. From the initial purchase to every follow-up activity thereafter, maintain a personable, gracious demeanor. Follow up with any issues, much like Zappos always does.
- Personality: Obviously a lot of commodities are just that, commodities. They’re no REAL differentiation factor, so the difference is something silly like convenience or price. If you give your product/service more personality, people are more likely to stick with you. Although there are many gyms in the area, I’ve most recently joined a Planet Fitness. Although it was more expensive to join for the month than the gym I had been going to, the atmosphere was more welcoming than my previous gym and I could identify with the brand’s personality.
- Seize opportunities: In the world of social media, it’s pretty easy to figure out when consumers aren’t happy about a purchase at your company or at one of your competitors. It’s here that you can really increase brand loyalty by reaching out to the customer, apologizing, and making some sort of constructive change. You may think, especially in the commodities world, that this can’t make a difference, but people said that about shoes, air travel and pizza, and now look at what Zappos, Southwest and Dominos are doing to build relationships with consumers.