Brand loyalty is no longer just about purchases – customers want to feel emotional connections to businesses. It is important for businesses to foster lasting loyalty among their customer base and increase it with new consumers.
A recent study shows that consumers want businesses to reach them emotionally — 46% prefer brands where there’s a relationship beyond “just selling me something”.
Driven by different levels of loyalty, including value, trust, quality and customer service, when customers feel emotionally connected to a business, their sense of loyalty increases:
1. Deep loyalty is fueled by these factors:
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Interacts consistently over time — 82%
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Able to resolve questions without a phone call – 80%
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Seems authentic, not artificial — 79%
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Makes interactions feel personal — 76%
2. Customers define loyalty in terms of their own behavior:
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Buying a product/service regularly — 76%
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Using a brand for a long time — 68%
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Recommending a business to others — 61%
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Feeling a deep emotional connection to a brand — 41%
3. Digital connections drive deep connections and loyalty:
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Shows personalized ads on social; has an online community — 52%
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Uses social to share content you care about — 50%
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Connects you with other customers with similar user expertise — 49%
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Is active on multiple digital channels, including email — 49%