Brand loyalty is one of the ultimate end goals of any marketing campaign. Any marketing or annual revenue report will always show that consistently engaged customers form the backbone of any brand’s success, and can often be counted on as either steady sources of profit or a way to indirectly market their brand to others.
However, consumer engagement — especially today where the competitive market has made it so easy to convert customers — is a precious commodity. Brands have made it a priority to reward consumers that actively and consistently engage with their brand, allowing them to not only develop brand loyalty but strengthen it as well.
Why is this necessary?
The concept of “rewards programs” was never old, but the attitude that companies and brands have to this has changed remarkably in the last fifty years. Back then, the most that any brand engaged with their consumer base was either subscription letters or face-to-face interaction in brick and mortar shops. However, with digitalization and the age of the internet, it became necessary to be more involved in the consumer engagement experience.
Adding the trend of relevancy (where consumers are most likely to relate to a brand that has an actionable, discernible effect on their lives) and it becomes easy to see why brands needed to be more involved when it came to consumer engagement. An equivalent exchange was no longer enough in order to leap ahead of the competition — companies needed to offer something more.
Strategies for satisfying satisfied customers
This where things like membership marketing services and exclusive came in handy. Brands started understanding that need for a dedicated part of their market to act as both their loyal clientele and brand ambassadors at the same time. Rewarding consumer engagement became a necessity almost overnight, as companies saw the benefits of having their consumers constantly engaged with their brands.
Of course, this approach was a win for everyone involved. Consumers felt appreciated by their continued engagement to a brand, and brands had a steady demographic that they can market to. Brand loyalty started becoming an ingrained part of the marketing process — it wasn’t enough to just convert. Brands needed to keep their audience.
How can you apply this to your own company?
There is a variety of ways you can do this for your own company, but the general rule of thumb to follow is that you should always have a customer-centric approach to your marketing efforts. It’s too easy to be blinded by the actual product you’re selling, causing you to miss the actual people that are buying them. And in the age of social media, if your market finds out that you do this, the word can and will travel fast.
The best thing you can do is to develop a personal relationship with your target market. Study the demographic and learn exactly what makes them what they are, the factors that led them to engage with your brand, and the circumstances why they choose to stick with it. With that information, you can formulate a reward program or incentives for them to stay with you, and ultimately help in growing your business.
