I recently came across this statement, while reading up on various loyalty strategies for an upcoming webinar and some related customer work we’re doing here at Cactus  It stuck with me because it really made me think about what loyalty meant and if there really is such thing as ‘Brand Loyalty’. 

I’ve always considered myself ‘Brand Loyal’, but let’s face it, I can be as fickle as the next shopper.  I’m there for you … until something better comes along. 

Without looking up Webster’s or Wikipedia’s definition of loyalty, to me it means to remain constant and true to someone, in good times and bad, and especially even if they screw up.  It’s easy to be loyal to family and friends (let’s hope anyway), because we have an emotional investment or attachment.  But can we really have that same investment or attachment with a brand?  I ‘love’ Brands … not just Starbucks and my favorite apparel brands, which everyone knows of me, but all of them … from CPG’s, to electronics, to airlines and more.  I’m just not a white label kind of girl.  The truth is however, it’s because I expect more from these brands.  I’m looking for value … cost, quality, service and experience, all in the right balance.  I’ll even accept a screw up here and there, but my tolerance is much lower and it’s only provided based on the assumption that the screw up will be fixed immediately and value restored.

I’m not the only one.  There are countless research studies and stats to support the theory that most customers are fickle. According to Q3 2008 Consumer Technographics® survey for example, we find that consumers:

Join loyalty programs mostly to get discounts and savings - 52% of respondents
Participate in a limited number of programs - 48% of respondents
Don’t necessarily end up more connected to the brands they join.- 24%

So what’s a brand to do?  Well, it’s not really as bleak as that all sounded.  I’m not suggesting that there is no such thing as Brand Loyalty, I’m just suggesting that unlike personal loyalty, it’s not born out of affection and emotion as it is between people.  Brand loyalty is the reward that consumers award brands in return for value.  By understanding that subtle difference, brands who continually focus on providing value to their consumers will be rewarded with lasting loyalty.   Losing focus of that customer driven goal, will likely result in losing customers just as quickly.

Providing customer value is the goal, brand loyalty is the reward.