Building Brand Loyalty: 10 Proven Strategies for Revenue Boosts

Did you know that 77% of consumers return to the same brands over and over again? What’s more, 37% of them identify as brand loyalists. Meaning that they will stay with a particular brand, even if offered a better product by competition. Brand loyalty is a powerful asset. Learn how to obtain it.

The simple truth is that brand loyalty will bring profit to your business. Repeat customers usually spend more money, make frequent purchases, and are cheaper to market to.

The best thing about brand loyalty?

You can count on your customers. They will keep buying your product and tell their family and friends about it. The word-of-mouth is the best form of marketing.

According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of your company’s future revenue will come from 20% of your current customer base. Creating that base is one of the key activities for your business success.

Table of contents:

1. How to build brand loyalty?
   01 Get to know your customers
   02 Measure satisfaction
   03 Provide excellent customer service
   04 Engage with your customers
   05 Build a strong brand identity & be consistent
   06 Collect feedback
   07 Don’t spam
   08 Reward loyal customers
   09 Personalize your marketing
   10 Be transparent and authentic
2. Start working on your customer loyalty today!
3. FAQ

How to build brand loyalty?

Brand loyalty and customer satisfaction are interlinked. That’s straightforward – you can’t have loyal customers if they’re unhappy with your product.

Why do your customers choose your product? Who is your ideal customer? How are you better than your competitors?

These are all questions that will steer you in the right direction.

After this quick brainstorming, dive into 10 ways to build brand loyalty.

01 Get to know your customers

Before you can fulfill the needs and wants of your clients, you have to get to know them. Otherwise, you won’t be able to fully understand their expectations.

Media monitoring tools will help you with that.

Start by creating a media monitoring project with the right keywords. You want to monitor what is said about your company online, so one of the keywords should be your company name.

If your company name is complicated, include some common misspellings.

Do you have any campaigns on Instagram or Twitter with a dedicated hashtag? Monitor them as well! Just use the hashtag as one of the keywords.

When you fire up your project, Brand24 will monitor the web and social media to collect mentions with predefined keywords.

The tool will hint at where your customers are and how they feel about your business.

Thanks to sentiment analysis, you can quickly identify the customers’ emotions regarding your brand. Take your time and browse through the Mentions section for firsthand opinions on your products and services.

Innovative AI-powered metrics will perform the in-depth data analysis for you.

• Topic Analysis
• AI Insights
• Emotion Analysis
• Metrics Analysis
• Anomalies Detection

Emotion Analysis is a helpful feature that will help you understand your customers’ emotions. Thanks to the chart, you can see how customer experience changes over time and which emotions dominate.

Finally, there’s the Geo Analysis, which indicates where your target audience comes from. There is a division for mentions, reach, and interaction to check the stats for all these parameters.

02 Measure satisfaction

To increase the number of repeat customers, you must ensure their satisfaction. There are many different ways and approaches to do that. There could be a separate article about this. But one is for sure. You will need a media monitoring tool to measure the effectiveness of our actions.

On the main page of your dashboard, you will see the sentiment analysis chart for your project. With our newest feature, Anomaly Detection, you benefit from the automated detection and identification of sudden sentiment changes. This way, you can easily avoid a PR crisis and foster customer loyalty.

There’s also the Emotion Analysis that I mentioned above. This feature will give you more detailed information about your consumers’ emotions. With these insights, you can build relationships with satisfied customers.

03 Provide excellent customer service

No one is perfect. Sooner or later, you will experience a customer service crisis. Surprisingly, it can be a blessing in disguise. The trick is to turn the tables around and make the bad review work for you. 

When it comes to customer service, time is of the essence. The sooner you respond, the better.

Why is time so valuable when building brand loyalty via customer service? Because your customers expect a rapid response. 14% expect a response on Twitter immediately, and 65% hope you will get back to them within 2 hours.

That’s another beauty of social listening. With real-time updates, you will always stay on top of things.

Choose the platform you want to analyze and set the sentiment bar in the right direction. The tool will list only positive or negative mentions.

That’s your spot to shine. React to negative comments and provide top-notch customer service. Listen to your customers and show empathy. Investigate the matter and offer some reparation if the crisis is your fault.

Browsing through negative mentions is also a great way to understand your customer’s buying journey and their opinions on your products and services.

You can set up a Slack integration to avoid logging into our dashboard regularly. We will notify you through the chat whenever there’s a new mention. Isn’t that awesome?

04 Engage with your customers

Addressing negative mentions is essential. But responding to positive ones is crucial in building brand loyalty. Your customers will appreciate interactions.

It’s a perfect way to create a loyal following and a strong referral network. It makes people believe that your business cares about them. Moreover, the positive reviews will attract new customers and boost your retention rate, increasing the customer lifetime.

Create a sense of belonging and community. Social media is the best place to do it.

Browse through your mentions to find relevant conversations you could participate in. Address negative and positive experience accordingly.

Use the Topic Analysis feature to discover the hottest social media topics around your brand.

Engaging your customers is all about creating opportunities for conversations. Share news about recent developments, industry trends, or some behind-the-scenes images. News about exclusive offers and discounts is always appreciated!

The key to success is simple – if your customers have positive associations with your brand, they will come back and repeat purchase.

That’s because brand loyalty means long-term, sustainable business success.

05 Build a strong brand identity & be consistent

Strong brand identity is an important factor in building customer loyalty. Consistency also plays a role here.

Clients want to feel the same every time they interact with your brand. You can’t deliver an outstanding customer experience on Facebook and completely neglect emails or Twitter.

A holistic approach to your brand means not only the same experience, no matter the location. Burger King offers exact experience in Vienna, Paris, and Amsterdam.

Stick to your brand values and focus on delivering your products and services of the same quality.

You should also pay attention to brand voice and visual coherence. Your logo and other design elements should look the same on all devices and browsers.

That sounds like a no-brainer, but you’ll be surprised how often it goes wrong.

06 Collect feedback

Customer feedback examples are crucial for building loyalty. They are testimonials attracting new clients and promoting product quality and services.

How to collect customer feedback?

You can encourage customers to leave reviews by offering discounts or free items. It’s a small investment in your existing customers, but it’s definitely worth it. First of all, it fosters customer loyalty. Secondly, it attracts new customers.

The start is always the most difficult. Getting your first reviews from your existing customers will be a great example for your new customers to share their opinions.

Besides direct customer feedback, you can collect reviews indirectly by browsing your Mentions Tab. If you want your clients to stay loyal, engaging in a positive social interaction is always nice. That’s how you stay connected with your audience and make them feel appreciated.

07 Don’t spam

Respect the time of every customer. We all have too much to do and too little time for effective work. Notifying your customers about every minor improvement to your product or service is counterproductive.

Most of us value good, educational content or information about good sales. Provide quality with every message your business sends out. Think about specific needs it will answer.

And while we’re at sending out business communication – make it personal. You gather all kinds of data about your clients. Use them well.

08 Reward loyal customers

Rewarding loyal customers is a potent strategy for cultivating brand loyalty, and Starbucks is a great example.

The coffee giant has created an effective loyalty program, the Starbucks Rewards program. This program allows customers to earn points for every purchase, unlocking a range of perks, from free drinks to personalized offers.

Such initiatives not only foster a sense of appreciation among customers but also incentivize repeat business, contributing significantly to the overall strength of the business.

Thanks to this strategy, Starbucks was able to win with other coffee companies and create a loyal customer base.

You can also invite your most loyal customers to become brand ambassadors for your business. Check out your Influencer Tab to meet your best customers.

09 Personalize your marketing

Personalizing your marketing efforts is a pivotal approach for brand loyalty.

Take personalized emails, for instance—they go beyond generic messages and resonate more with individual customers. Tailoring communication to address specific customer preferences, behaviors, and purchase history will create a more intimate connection.

Brands can also deploy personalized recommendations based on past interactions, enhancing the overall customer experience and messaging value.

Companies foster a deeper bond with the buyers by incorporating personalization into social media interactions and product suggestions. This approach makes customers feel valued and understood, ultimately solidifying brand loyalty.

10 Be transparent and authentic

Maintaining brand loyalty hinges on authenticity and transparency. In today’s market, customers value genuine and open brands about their values, practices, and even shortcomings.

Being authentic involves staying true to your brand identity and values, resonating with consumers on a deeper level.

Conversely, transparency means being open about your processes, sourcing, quality, and any challenges. Brands like Patagonia, for example, have thrived by transparently sharing their sustainable practices.

Other companies embrace charitable work to show their customers that they care about the harmful effects their business has, e.g., on the environment. For some people, this is a genuine move they value; others see it as buying indulgences for the businesses’ eco-guilt. But that’s a different story.

In sum, when customers perceive authenticity and transparency, it fosters trust, encouraging long-term customer loyalty as consumers feel more connected to a business they believe is honest and genuine.

Start working on your customer loyalty today!

In conclusion, building brand loyalty is a dynamic journey consisting of customer experiences, authenticity, and strategic approaches.

By consistently delivering exceptional products or services, fostering genuine connections, and adapting to the evolving needs of your audience, you pave the way for enduring customer loyalty and finding brand ambassadors.

Remember, it’s not just about transactions; it’s about creating a brand legacy that resonates with your audience’s hearts and minds.

So, embark on this journey with a commitment to excellence, transparency, and personalized experiences, and watch as brand loyalty becomes a powerful force propelling your business to new heights and attracting new customers.

FAQ

What is brand loyalty?

Brand loyalty is a customer’s commitment to a brand, driven by positive experiences, trust, and shared values. It goes beyond repeat purchases, reflecting a deep connection that influences consumer choices even in the presence of competitive alternatives.

What is the difference between brand loyalty and customer loyalty?

While customer loyalty often relies on economic factors like prices and discounts, brand loyalty is rooted in perception and experience.

Brand-loyal customers perceive a brand as synonymous with better quality and service, regardless of competitive pricing. The focus is on the overall brand image and the unique experiences it provides. Although brand-loyal customers might make fewer transactions, the profit margins on these purchases are more substantial, emphasizing the deeper, value-driven connection.

What are the levels of brand loyalty?

Brand loyalty operates on 3 different levels:

1. Brand Recognition: Customers are familiar with the brand at the primary level. They can identify and recall it among a range of options. These are usually new customers not profoundly familiar with the business.

2. Brand Preference: This level involves a higher degree of commitment. Customers prefer one brand over others due to perceived advantages or positive experiences.

3. Brand Insistence: This is the pinnacle of brand loyalty. Customers at this level are committed enthusiasts who actively seek out the brand and are not easily swayed by alternatives. They insist on that specific brand in their choices, showing a deep connection and trust.

Why is brand loyalty important?

Brand loyalty is crucial because it fosters customer retention, reduces marketing costs, and promotes positive word-of-mouth. It also positively impacts the customer lifetime value. Loyal customers are likelier to stick with a brand, make repeat purchases, and become brand advocates.

What are the characteristics of brand loyalty?

Brand loyalty is marked by a profound emotional connection, making customers resistant to competitors. It fuels positive word-of-mouth, creates tolerance to price changes, and encourages repeat purchases.

How long does it take to build brand loyalty?

The time to build a loyal customer base varies, typically taking months to years. It depends on customer experience, marketing strategies, industry dynamics, and competing companies.