Research trumps brand loyalty

PR can support marketing on both fronts

Marketers spend billions every year to build loyalty for their brands, but does it work?  Is there, in fact, such a thing as brand loyalty anymore?

Look back 40 or 50 years and brand loyalty was a very real fact of life.  I can remember as a kid having friends whose father was “a diehard Buick man” or “a loyal Ford man.”  They’d had good experience with the brand, and they felt it fit their image and their budget.  Every car they purchased would be from that marque.  It was the same for appliances, healthcare products, food items.  Wonder Bread “built strong bodies 12 ways” and that was that.  Why consider anything else?

On the retail side, many consumers felt a loyalty to specific stores, for a variety of reasons.  They liked a store’s merchandise selection, the ads made them feel it was their kind of store, they appreciated the personal attention and good customer service.  Price often didn’t figure much into the equation.

But that was 50 years ago… before consumers began reacting more to price.  Once price became the major factor, loyalty pretty much went out the door.

So it’s not surprising to see some recent research showing consumers place little value on brand loyalty when it comes to buying decisions these days. A study reported recently in MediaPost’s Marketing Daily shows a major deciding factor is now consumer research. 

Let’s look at the loyalty part first.  The report says only three percent of consumers in the 25 -49 age group surveyed indicate brand loyalty as a major factor in their purchase decisions.

I wouldn’t take that as a sign for marketers to abandon their consumer relations and community relations goodwill efforts.  Community relations to build loyalty can save a brand’s hide when disaster strikes.  Fast food chains, for example, have been able to weather things ranging from rat infestation to being blamed for the nation’s obesity problem because they’ve built up a level of trust with the public.  Jet Blue weathered a spate of horrendous news when they treated passengers poorly on some planes stranded on the runway in bad weather.  But they came out ok because they had built up what some call “a trust bank” of goodwill, understanding and loyalty.

So public relations efforts aimed at building trust and loyalty are still very important, in my opinion.  Even if loyalty doesn’t boost sales quarter-to-quarter, it can save a brand from sinking when bad news hits.

Now let’s look at the other key finding in the report cited in Marketing Daily.  Forty-three percent of those surveyed say they base their purchase decision largely on research.  Of those, 97 percent do their research online.

And what do people find online?  Articles and product reviews from newspapers, magazines and, increasingly, e-zines and blogs.   Where do many of those articles and reviews originate?  From material and media contact from PR sources.

The bottom line, as I see it, is that public relations isa viable and effective part of the marketing mix, even as consumer buying habits change.  PR programming can helpthe results come up favorably when consumers do their research.  And it can be crucial in building that loyalty and understanding that might end up being a lifesaver if and when disaster strikes a brand.

Comments

[Bambe Levine]

In today's world brand loyalty is really out of fashion. After all, we're taught to live life to its fullest and that means trying everything. Why stay loyal to one brand when we're told to gain experience and try them all. We were a "Buick" family when I was growing up. It was hard to imagine driving anything else. Then after some shallow soul searching, my father decided that maybe we should try a Cadillac. So he went down to the local Cadillac dealer and gave him $100 to put a new car on hold when the new models came out. But that's not the end of the story. My father wrestled with his conscience...How could he be disloyal to his brand? How could he not buy from his Buick dealership from a guy he knew for years? Yep, he got the hundred dollars back and the word Cadillac was never mentioned again.

There are some brands that many people are still loyal to and would never change...or nearly.I've been an Apple Computer user since 1984 when I bought my first Apple IIe. I can hardly use a PC. And didn't everyone in 1970s own a Sony anything. Who didn't have a Walkman? In our house we've always used Heinz Ketchup and Lipton Tea was a staple. But with some many new consumer products and things to eat, white bread just doesn't cut it any more. Brand loyalty? I think we're loyal to what we like. But it's now more tempting to like many things...

[Evan J.]

Brand Loyalty is still important. But it now has to have quality to back it up.
If you have a consistant, quality product, people may stray but they'll be back. Look at cigarette brands, beer and "new" Coke vs. Pepsi.
People will try something new (usually because it's the only thing available i.e. a keg of a certain beer at a party) but if given the consumer's choice, most will return to their "ol' reliables".
Great Article

[Peter Hann]

Nice informative post shared by you here. I like to read this post. Actually I often in search of this types of post. It is very helpful to me and inspiring.

[Tjøstel Flønes]

Loyalty for any business has only one reason for me that is the customer services that give an satisfaction,in Finland most of the business get some loyalty for giving a customer services satisfaction and sometime it can also attract many people that also want to encounter good service.