Brand loyalty describes the positive sentiment that a consumer has with a particular brand, increasing the likelihood of the consumer sticking with that brand. Brand loyalty is undoubtedly an important factor in growing a business. It is the reason why a child can point out a McDonald’s arch or a seasoned traveler always picks Marriott hotels. However, how does brand loyalty transfer to a digital space? How can you personally find, reach and connect with your intended audience?
In this blog post, we detail five critical components of establishing an effective brand identity to grow brand loyalty.
- Define Your Brand Identity
Just as each individual has a personality, each business should have a brand personality.
It’s your identity, and defines your reputation. That is why the very first step for establishing brand loyalty has to be establishing who you are and what your business represents. For those in the product space, it has to be more than simply describing what your product does. And for those in the service space, you must consider how you deliver that service beyond just the contractual agreement.
Today, businesses are scrutinized and asked to take on corporate social responsibility and drive forward diversity and inclusion efforts. Both need to be fundamentally baked into your business personality. And remember, don’t just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk, too.
- Know Your Audience
Consumers like to feel recognized and acknowledged!
Defining who your audience is only the first step towards establishing brand loyalty. While you may know who they are, you may be speaking past them, not in the language they use, or even worse, on a platform they don’t visit.
In face-to-face interactions, body language can give context to how a person reacts to your brand. In digital interactions, there is an absence of body language. Because of this, you should dedicate some time towards learning about your audience and what they respond to.
Every audience has different needs. Knowing your audience can help you communicate more effectively, save money on marketing materials, and propel your business forward!
- Activate Word Of Mouth Marketing
People trust other people. Arguably the most important form of marketing is word-of-mouth marketing that allows customers to share their experience with your business.
How do you utilize word of mouth marketing to increase your brand awareness and loyalty? Provide a great customer experience whether it is in person or virtually, connect with your customers on the platforms they use, be involved in the community and extend that into your social media channels, and encourage loyal customers to spread the word and leave a review or refer your business to their friends.
Digital communications makes capturing and sharing organic customer testimonials as easy as 1-2-3 while preserving marketing budgets for other initiatives.
- Consistently Communicate with Customers
Your customers want to feel connected! However, customer engagement is happening more and more online, which may limit the level of rapport you have with your customers.
Don’t let that happen. Be intentional with not only how you are engaging with your customers, but when you do it, too. Research when they are engaging with your platform, and time your marketing emails and social media posts to be distributed at that time. Test out different messages and consider which ones get the most engagement. Ask for their feedback, and then utilize that feedback to improve your service offering. Be persistent, yet courteous, and allow the customer to engage with your brand in their preferred manner. Work hard to establish trust and familiarity with your brand, and never take that trust for granted by spamming their inbox or selling their personal information with or without permission.
- Get Involved
At a time when you can swipe a touchscreen or simply type on a keyboard to connect with products and people, the risk of disconnecting from your local community runs high. You may be thinking “I don’t have time or resources to be charitable at this point, and local news isn’t interested in me or my business.”
However, think broader and consider ways your business is already impacting and improving the community – or ways your services could be leveraged to help others. Use networking tools to connect with local organizations and businesses, and learn about the needs of the community. While the Internet and overnight shipping allows consumers to have access to a global commerce marketplace, businesses can leverage their local communities to not only grow but do good work, too.
Interested in identifying, communicating and connecting with your brand identity? Schedule a consultation with Anna Stallmann Communications.
Blog post co-authored by Anna Stallmann and Taylor Gantt.
