What is Brand Loyalty and How Can Your E-Commerce Brand Achieve It?
When it comes to digital marketing tips for your e-commerce brand, there is no better topic to discuss than brand loyalty. It’s what marketers love to dish about the most! Brand loyalty is the combination of mission, ethos, and values your brand embodies that generates loyal consumers that advocate for you when you are down, cheer you on when you are right, and brag about you to all your friends. Not to mention, it’s often easier to re-target a loyal consumer for future sales than it is to acquire a brand new one. Existing customers are much easier to sell to. According to Marketing Metrics, the probability of converting an existing customer is 60 to 70%. The probability of converting a new prospect, on the other hand, is only 5 to 20%.
Conversely, where those customers are not coming back for more this often indicates a real breakdown in connection with brand loyalty. As stated in this Forbes article referencing a Bain & Company study, “60-80% of customers who describe themselves as satisfied do not go back to do more business with the company that initially satisfied them.” Whether it’s via your product packaging or customer success strategy, building brand loyalty is something that should ooze out of your company and be present in at least one major area of the work that you do. Fortunately, many companies lend themselves to brand loyalty examples in this regard and they lead by example. We’ll share here some case by case examples of how brand loyalty can be achieved here. As you review them, ask yourself – which of these feels most pertinent to my digital marketing strategy needs?
1. Create Brand Ambassadors
As one invests time to generate highly valuable content, this content is not only valuable in its own right but is often reshared over and over again by related professionals in the field. This effectively turns a give back strategy into a brand ambassador strategy.
A great example of a company doing the ambassador technique well in the brand loyalty space is Canva. They’ve pioneered the #canvalove hashtag to help people share just how much the user-friendly, easier-to-access graphic design platform has done for them. For example, check out this post and comment thread on Canva’s Instagram.
Not only is this 1 million followers post a celebration of social proof (i.e. that Canva is the place to be), but it also really highlights firsthand just why customers love and celebrate this product. It is brand advocacy right from their most authentic, unbiased source – their loyal consumers.
2. Create a Unique Buying Experience
Another brand loyalty example is in your customer buyer’s journey. Etsy sellers know and do this well – whether it is a personalized thank you message after a purchase, a handwritten note, or the care and consideration put into the packaging (sometimes with extra freebies).
Not all companies have the capability of putting such firsthand touches into their products, but there are ample ways to still achieve this effect. With the advent of new companies tackling the handwritten notes challenge in this space (or even Etsy sellers capitalizing on this very thing too) – the world is your oyster when it comes to customization capabilities.
For example, MeUndies sends a funny haiku to your inbox when your order ships.
There are countless other ways to create a unique and exciting customer buyer experience – from boxes to bags they arrive in, to the type of tissue paper you use, to the marketing collateral and swag you insert. Who doesn’t love a sticker? (Side note: Canva gives stickers.🙃)
3. Be Unapologetically Awesome in Your Customer Experiences
In a highly tech-centric and social media savvy culture, customers are going to observe how you interact with other customers. They’ll be reading your captions, tuning into your tone of voice, seeing how responsive you are to people’s gripes in the comment sections and a whole lot more. It’s vitally important that in these places and spaces you follow up, show you care, and follow through. Keep in mind, this doesn’t have to be only when things are negative. Positive moments and brand ambassador moments can be celebrated just as much, too.
4. Be Disruptive in a Positive Way
We all love rebels. As such, when a brand does something unique and different, it gets people talking. There is a careful and fine line that needs to be walked with this one though. Be unique and different in some aspect of your digital marketing strategy, but don’t be too disruptive in a way that offends a particular group of people or incite negativity, or worse.
5. Get Psychological
Our brains are hardwired to pair certain feelings with certain colors (red for passion, green for heart), and the attention to detail you put into logo design, brand aesthetic, and visual display all create (or break) brand loyalty too.
Brand loyalty can be intricate and complex. Here at AdQuadrant we pride ourselves on creating omni-channel digital marketing strategies that generate brand awareness, affinity and loyalty. We’re here to discuss your needs and what we can do to build your brand.
About the author: Julie Ann Howlett is a freelance writer who enjoys marketing, entrepreneurship, and writing. She has degrees in science and teaching and has done advanced coursework in data analytics. She runs her own small businesses and is especially passionate about gender equity in STEM, technology, and business. You can connect with her on LinkedIn via customized note.
