Here’s All you Need to Know About Brand Loyalty and Why Your Business Needs it

Have you ever wondered why some high-end brands have a large following of loyal customers who would go all the way to purchase from their favourite companies?

Take Apple users, for instance, they are known to stand in very long queues for long hours –  some till overnight – at Apple stores just to purchase a newly launched iPhone. It sounds irrational that these people have become ‘die-hard fans’ of the product that some would pay to have a spot on the queue.

Take it or leave it, there’s something worth noting of the consumerism of these loyalists of Apple phones.

It’s called Brand Loyalty.

What is brand loyalty?

Brand loyalty is simply making your customers continually buy from your business only.

According to Investopedia, brand loyalty is the positive association consumers attach to a particular product or brand. It is when a customer continues to buy your products, not because yours is better, cheaper, or the only option available, but because they trust your company. A consumer can be loyal when they have a strong emotional attachment to the brand and identifies with it so much on a personal level.

If you’ve found yourself scouting multiple stores in search of your preferred bathing soap, refusing to settle for another brand, that makes you a loyalist of that brand that makes your soap.

Brand loyalty has everything to do with how consumers regard your brand, and it doesn’t just develop overnight. There are factors like a consumer’s past positive experience with your brand, the quality of your product, active social media engagement, emotional connections, that influence a consumer’s perception of your brand. 

Why does brand loyalty matter to your business?

Increased sales, a strong customer base, high customer retention and repurchase rate, long life business-customer relationship, amidst others are the perks of brand loyalty. Without customers, your business cannot exist and there’ll be no sales. Without loyal customers – who will keep coming back to you – your business cannot scale beyond a certain level, which most likely would be low. 

Brand loyalty is important and responsible for the long-term success of your brand. A well-pleased customer will become a loyal customer who will spread the good news of your brand to their family members, friends, and loved ones. Research by HubSpot showed that 81% of customers trust their friends and family’s advice over advice from a business. It went further to state that 65% do not trust company press releases, 69% do not trust advertisements, and 71% do not trust sponsored ads on social networks. It was made clear that customers learn from friends, not salespeople. They trust other customers, not marketers nor targeted ads. 

Below are some benefits of brand loyalty for your business:

• It gives you a competitive edge over other brands in the market.
• Easy and less expensive introduction to new products.
• Drives repeat business.
• Creates a positive brand value.
• Increases sales and revenue.
• Opportunities to build customer relationships.
• Creates brand ambassadors through word-of-mouth marketing.
• You get to gain valuable feedback.

When done right, brand loyalty becomes a shield against any micro-environmental factors the business might encounter. No matter the situation, loyal consumers will continue to make purchases that will help the business thrive and succeed. In the next article, we will look at ways to build a loyal brand. 

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Featured image: istockphoto