An in-depth look at the latest cutting-edge technologies and strategies to gain and retain customers.
There is a commonly held belief that consumers will always opt for the least expensive variety of a particular good for which they are in the market. However, we see this disproven every day in the real world as many consumers ultimately opt for a brand that they feel a sense of loyalty to. This begs the question: Is it possible to foster brand loyalty, and if so, how might one go about doing so?
What is Brand Loyalty?
You know the feeling, even if you can’t quite put a finger on it. When it comes to certain products, you have a preference for one particular brand over another. You might not even bother to compare the price of your preferred brand against the price of a competitor. You have fully bought into your brand of choice, and you are unlikely to change your attitude toward that brand ever again.
Modern marketing professionals understand that this kind of loyalty is extremely valuable, and they know that they may be able to generate it via emotional engagement strategies. If a savvy marketer can pull this off, then they may well have added significant lifetime value to every interaction the brand has with that customer moving forward.
Measuring the Lifetime Value of Brand Loyalty
Building brand loyalty among customers requires a significant investment of time, financial resources, and energy. One might reasonably wonder why a company would choose to invest so many resources into this particular goal. As it happens, there are a multitude of reasons why one might measure a customer’s lifetime value, including:
- The Connection Between Retention and Lifetime Value — There is a direct correlation between one’s success with retaining customers and the lifetime value of those customers. This is to say that the better that one gets at retaining customers, the higher the lifetime value of them will be. It is far less expensive and far more profitable for a company to retain a customer rather than try to go out and find a new one.
- High Lifetime Value Increases the Odds of Word-of-Mouth Advertising — Word-of-mouth advertising is the most powerful form of advertising known on the planet. Customers who are excited about a product and tell their friends and family about it are offering free advertising. People want to hear about products that they may consider purchasing from those they already trust, and that is exactly what word-of-mouth advertising provides.
- Higher Customer Satisfaction also Leads to Higher Lifetime Value — Another reason to keep one’s eye on the lifetime value of a given customer is that it directly translates to higher customer satisfaction. The most satisfied customers out there are the ones who are most likely to keep coming back and buying more products over time. Thus, the higher the lifetime value, the higher the customer satisfaction.
These are all superb reasons to monitor one’s customers’ lifetime value. Improving that lifetime value can add to the bountiful benefits mentioned above.
How Can Companies Improve Brand Loyalty Today?
You can now see the benefits of strong brand loyalty, but you may still be wondering how today’s companies can foster the kind of brand loyalty they seek. What steps can they take to cultivate it that will secure a lasting relationship with the customers they’ve managed to attract thus far?
- Capturing attention
Think about the brands you prefer to use. What have their platforms offered you? How do they interact? What do you expect from them? What do users tend to seek while using different platforms, especially considering the level of variety in the digital sphere? What catches your attention on a platform, especially if there are several more or less identical platforms on the market offering you the same things — the same content or features?
To answer such questions, we need to talk about the connection between the brand and the user. If users watch a film on this platform because it is exclusively available there, that is one case. But if the film is available on many platforms, what forces a viewer to choose this particular platform? If the user tries several similar workout apps, what makes them stick with one?
- Onboarding
People who use digital services are more or less digitally savvy. We don’t need a tutorial to find a game on a video platform or to find needed goods in an online store. We don’t need any help or advice on how to use apps… Or do we? Users won’t ask you for help; they will just go to the App Store if your app isn’t clear to them. FAQ is a good instrument, but it is better to postpone interaction until later. Make the experience of discovering your app and its features seamless. If the experience goes smoothly for users, they will come back. Show them what you have, what tools they can use, and say hi. If you are sure that your users are too busy to go through your onboarding, let them skip it — but don’t be too arrogant or ignorant to say at least a few greeting phrases.
- Clear and comfortable UX
You can use JTBD or any other UX strategy, but in any case, your users have to feel good while using your app or website.
- Embedded Live Social Feeds
Perhaps you want to share your brand’s social media feeds directly on your website. You can do so via a live social feed. In fact, this is often recommended as a great step in the right direction for keeping your customers up to date with the latest happenings within your company.
- Community-building tools such as public and private chats
The sense of community that can be built with these tools is linked directly to loyalty. If users feel like a part of something live, can discuss their experiences with soulmates, can become experts to share advice or opinions, or can share their thoughts with the brand directly (not just through a tech support ticket), it can be crucial and helpful for your users and your relationships with them.
- Reliant support
If your users face technical or other negative issues, they need to see that you care: you explain what happened, fix the problem, and do everything to avoid such issues in the future. If you build a strong brand and then just ignore users’ problems, it’s just a waste of money, time, and people’s trust.
- Channels for feedback (and proof that you see and hear it!)
These channels can and should be various. Brands that care about their image have to gather feedback from various channels. You can catch posts on TikTok, X, or LinkedIn and reply to them, showing that you care. You can see blog posts or YouTube reviews and be present in the comments. But you should also initiate the feedback flow, not just wait for it. Customer development interviews and focus groups help get early reactions to new content and features. Integrated community chats help a lot because they accumulate the average mood of your users and allow you to stay in constant touch with your audience. If users see that they are heard — not only when they are popular Instagram influencers but just as regular users — they will value it.
These are some of the ways that many companies have integrated the use of existing social media accounts to enhance their image with the public. However, there are even more advanced approaches that you should consider as well. What if you could make your website itself a social hub where people gather? That is the latest brand loyalty technique being tested, and it is working extremely well for many different brands.
Social Features for Brand Loyalty
There are plenty of social features that can easily be integrated into virtually any platform to boost brand loyalty and the amount of time that visitors spend on the platform. Let’s see some of the features that can be considered.
Public and Private Community Chats
People are truly seeking to be brought together. They are looking for a sense of community that is rapidly disappearing with the growth of competition in all digital spheres. When there was one social network, it was easier to find soulmates. However, via the use of tools such as community chat features, it might be possible to once again create the bonds of community, and it works perfectly because, in this case, people will be gathered based on their personal interests: they communicate here because they all watch the same game or follow tutorials of the same workout trainer.
In-App Live Streaming — Influencers host their streams on Twitch, YouTube, and other relevant platforms. Sometimes, they tell their audiences about your brand and sometimes about your content. Also, while discussing content available on your platform, they may share it on the platforms of your competitors.
Instead of this pattern, you can invite influencers and their entire audiences to your platform. In this case, you can expect that people will feel a sense of brand loyalty when they are offered the opportunity to interact with their favourite influencers directly on your platform. You can even build a habit for users to join your platform to watch this popular streamer instead of Twitch.
AI Bots for Real-Time Interactions — Don’t forget to consider investing in AI bots to facilitate real-time conversations with website users. These bots can help answer some simple questions that the users might have, give recommendations for film or fitness platforms, and provide predictions for sports and gaming apps. AI participation is something users expect to see on digital platforms, and the integration of chats with added AI bots can meet users’ needs and connect them with hidden and needed information.
Brand Loyalty is Built Over Time: Begin the Process Today
Building brand loyalty with any customer takes time. However, this process will never happen if you aren’t willing to take the necessary steps. That is why you should develop a strategy for obtaining the brand loyalty you crave and deserve from your customers.
Connect with us if you plan to integrate or develop in-app social tools for real-time communication. We will help you find the most suitable way to do so.
