Brand loyalty continues to decline. A Deloitte 2015 American Pantry Study found “three of four packaged goods categories have seen a decline in ‘must have’ brand loyalty since 2011.”
The study identified four attributes currently most important to consumers. They are:
Healthy Innovative Convenient Customized
Each attribute reflects a personal component, and each is open to broad definition.
To build loyalty among consumers they seek to serve, companies must further understand what matters to them, and create meaningful brands, products and services that will spur these consumers’ purchases.
Purchasing store brands is one choice consumers made to save money, particularly in the “Great Recession.” Whether due to slow recovery, or now a long-term trend, many consumers remain value-conscious, use coupons regularly and bring lists to ensure they buy only what they need.
Per the Deloitte study, store brands are purchased for practical reasons, such as price, familiarity and availability. National brands are chosen for emotional reasons, such as love and trust.
So, the question national and store brands alike face is what they can do to gain loyalty from those not currently purchasing their brand.
One Expert’s Perspective
Michael J. Silverstein, senior partner of Boston Consulting Group*, shares advice on emotionally connecting with consumers and making your brand essential in their lives. He states that their research shows 2% of customers – which he terms “apostles” – are personally responsible for 20% of sales. However, their enthusiastic “evangelizing” with friends and family means they account for 80% of total sales and 150% of profits.
How to effectively focus on apostle customers to become an apostle brand?
Consumers don’t always know what they want. The more unique and/or revolutionary your product(s) the more this is true. Show them! Consider Apple. Consumers never asked for anything like the iPhone. However, iPhone apostles consider their iPhones central to every day. Don’t spend your budget on attracting customers in general. Focus on those within your core group. Success with apostles will drive brand growth. Welcome customers’ anger. The greater the anger, the more you have to learn. Ignoring or shutting down complaints is a brand destroying formula. Listen. Then prepare to change. Focus on “demand spaces” – not just demographics. “Demand spaces” are occasions or emotional moments when people seek a product. These are real events people experience that may include drama, emotion and energy. “Demand spaces” are what drive buying patterns. For example, when PepsiCo figured out what makes a “snacking moment” for people that they were able to revitalize Lay’s potato chips. Design does matter. Take a fresh look at the physical look of your products. Employees create huge opportunities – or can ensure failure . Turn employees into “disciples” who will engage customers and tell your story with passion. Train them, develop them and pay them well. Protect them. Get virtual. Use your online presence to go way beyond selling. Consider virtual communications as opportunities to form real relationships. Your website, blogs and other social media can help strengthen trust and create real bonds with apostles. No tweaks. If you’re going to make a change, make it a big, bold change. Incremental improvements are a waste.
Brands are fragile.
Some brands that are greatly loved are also strongly disliked. No brand is stable. Change is a constant. Creating an apostle brand requires a very precise plan, but at its core is simple: “understand what consumers really want, create stunning experiences and have an authentic relationship with them.”
Action Items:
Convene your leadership group. Define your core customers – those who are of greatest importance in terms of revenues, profitability, influence, early adopters, etc. Conduct an in-depth study to gain insight into personal views and emotional ties of these customers. Examine their relationship with their favorite brand or two. Evaluate your current employee status. Do you have the right employees – particularly those who are customer facing? Have they been properly trained (with frequent refreshers/updates) and are they being developed to their full potential? Is “passion” a term an objective third party would use to describe your customer-facing employees? Does their pay and total compensation reflect their value to the organization? Develop internal strategies to move further toward deep and authentic connections with core customers (potential apostles) and with top-notch employees.
*Silverstein, Michael J., senior partner, Boston Consulting Group, 9 right and wrong ways to grow your brand, Upstart Business Journal, November 12, 2015
