Built On Trust: What Emotional Connections Mean For Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty is no longer built on stacks of clipped coupons and discount codes.

Today, that foundation is created with emotional roots, as evidenced by the 58.4% of customers who say connections such as their beliefs and values drive their loyalty (as opposed to the 41.6% who cite transactional incentives).

“Customers are less brand loyal today than they were five years ago,” says the Bloomreach and EMARKETER study, entitled The Power Of Trust And Emotions In Building Customer Loyalty. “This means that brands can’t expect to build loyal consumer bases by simply repeatedly slashing prices in a race to the bottom. Instead, loyalty needs to be earned through trust and emotional connections with consumers.”

The study identified a variety of keys to building emotional connections, from focusing on storytelling content to personalization and seamless customer service. Almost a third (32.5%) say customer support is the best opportunity for customer retention following a purchase, followed by options such as free delivery (22.1%), future discounts (17.5%), and free returns (9.1%).

(Source: EMARKETER)

“Brands can couple these services with personalized product recommendations to stand out even more from the competition,” the study says. “At the end of the day, you can’t simply expect customers to keep coming back if you don’t earn their return visit. Remember: Customer loyalty is built, not bought.”

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