There are many different aspects to having a successful brand. Today we are specifically focusing on brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is defined by how people feel, and their faithfulness to a specific brand by repeated purchases. Many businesses aspire to be the “go to”, but most of them don’t know how to get there. Today we are giving you the inside scoop on creating brand loyalty and striking the emotional cord within your targeted audience.
“Within every brand is a product, but not every product is a brand.” – David Ogilvy – Click to Tweet!
1. Be Bigger, Faster, Stronger
You don’t literally need to be stronger than your opponent, but you do need to become the expert in your field. Focus on one thing you do better than anyone else.
Cheerios is a prime example of a business taking one of their strong attributes and running with it. They market themselves as a healthy cereal alternative for adults and kids by promoting their health benefits.
2. Talk-the-Talk AND Walk-the-Walk
You can talk-the-talk, but can you walk-the-walk? How credible are you? You may have a great key message, but if your product or service doesn’t stack up, your brand loyalty and identity is at stake.
One business that does a fabulous job is Apple. It is no surprise that they are the number one computer company when it comes to brand loyalty. The combination of their pristine marketing and reliable products set them up for success. (Their half billion dollar budget doesn’t hurt either).
3. Be Accessible
Whether your consumer is 5 minutes or 500 miles away from their home, can they access your product? Even if they can’t physically touch your product, keeping in touch with them via social media channels is a great way to make them feel connected to you and your business.
Starbucks does a great job of this physically and technologically. In fact, it is proven you cannot go more than 170 miles without running into another Starbucks in the U.S. If this doesn’t impress you, just take a look at their social media stats. They are ranked #5 when it comes to popularity on Facebook, AND they have access to more than 1 billion people just through that one social media channel.
4. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat….. Did I Mention Repeat?
When running a business, you want to make sure not to turn stale on your consumers. You want to constantly be tuned into what your target market is saying, and be on top of changes in your industry. You never want to get too comfortable.
Some of you might have heard of a little social media platform called Facebook. Not only is Facebook number one when it comes to retaining users, but they are also the dominant social media platform when it comes to picking up new users. Although some consumers are resistant when Facebook makes a change, this actually is one of the key aspects to their successes.
How do you assure brand loyalty in your business? We’d love to hear from you. Leave your comments below. How do you go the extra mile to secure your brand connections?