How many times have you heard yourself saying that you only trust that brand? Wouldn't that be what you want to hear from your customers about your brand as well? Building brand loyalty is one of the key cornerstones of branding. Why? It is because it is far less expensive to retain a customer than to acquire a new one.
So how do you foster this relationship you have with your customers?
First and foremost as with any relationships, it needs to be worked at and nurtured. Customers come in all shapes and sizes. There are the fans and there are the switchers. Let's take them on one at a time.
The fans
These are the die-hard fans of your brand. They are intensely attached to your brand and make repeated purchases. They form brand communities like chat groups or fan clubs eg. Mini convertible Club. There they bond with other brand users and promote the use of the brand. It's a great way to get positive word-of-mouth promotion. Hearing it from opinion leaders and brand advocators is more personable and believable. It's a powerful way of getting your brand message across to new customers too! Of course, fans of your brand need to be rewarded for their loyalty and support. They need to feel special and be given special privileges such as, be the first ones to know about new products or sales promotions, get rewarded with rewards points, discounts and one-off special edition premiums. In other words, they need to be handled with care and their feedback taken seriously because they give you a bigger share of wallet.
The switchers
These are the folks that have little attachment and loyalty to your brand. They are brand-switchers and are easily swayed by your competitor's brand messages. Even though they are aware of your brand but they don't quite identify or bond with it. In branding, your biggest challenge is to get the switchers to identify and like your brand. You want to move them from switching to trusting, liking and loving. In other words, switch them into fans. Understand their needs and why they're switching. Pay attention to what they're saying. Because they are already aware of your brand, you can focus on winning their trust and commitment.
It's all about building on that relationship you have with your customers. Remember, fans of brands do more than just rake in the sales. They bring in the new converts too!
