Brand Loyalty, Measures of Brand Loyalty

Last updated on December 24th, 2019 at 01:44 pm

Brand Loyalty is a scenario where the consumer fears purchasing and consuming product from another brand which he does not trust. It is measured through methods like word of mouth publicity, repetitive buying, price sensitivity, commitment, brand trust, customer satisfaction, etc. Brand loyalty is the extent to which a consumer constantly buys the same brand within a product category. The consumers remain loyal to a specific brand as long as it is available. They do not buy from other suppliers within the product category. Brand loyalty exists when the consumer feels that the brand consists of right product characteristics and quality at right price. Even if the other brands are available at cheaper price or superior quality, the brand loyal consumer will stick to his brand.

Brand loyal consumers are the foundation of an organization. Greater loyalty levels lead to less marketing expenditure because the brand loyal customers promote the brand positively. Also, it acts as a means of launching and introducing more products that are targeted at same customers at less expenditure. It also restrains new competitors in the market. Brand loyalty is a key component of brand equity.

Brand loyalty can be developed through various measures such as quick service, ensuring quality products, continuous improvement, wide distribution network, etc. When consumers are brand loyal they love “you” for being “you”, and they will minutely consider any other alternative brand as a replacement. Examples of brand loyalty can be seen in US where true Apple customers have the brand’s logo tattooed onto their bodies. Similarly in Finland, Nokia customers remained loyal to Nokia because they admired the design of the handsets or because of user- friendly menu system used by Nokia phones.

Brand loyalty can be defined as relative possibility of customer shifting to another brand in case there is a change in product’s features, price or quality. As brand loyalty increases, customers will respond less to competitive moves and actions. Brand loyal customers remain committed to the brand, are willing to pay higher price for that brand, and will promote their brand always. A company having brand loyal customers will have greater sales, less marketing and advertising costs, and best pricing. This is because the brand loyal customers are less reluctant to shift to other brands, respond less to price changes and self- promote the brand as they perceive that their brand have unique value which is not provided by other competitive brands.

Brand loyalty is always developed post purchase. To develop brand loyalty, an organization should know their niche market, target them, support their product, ensure easy access of their product, provide customer satisfaction, bring constant innovation in their product and offer schemes on their product so as to ensure that customers repeatedly purchase the product.

How to measure brand loyalty with surveys

Surveys can be a useful tool for assessing loyalty based on 5 key metrics: customer affinity, trust, esteem, reliability, and identification.

Good measures of these aspects of your brand can help you identify areas of competition, evaluate the stickiness of established customer bases in different markets, and understand the strengths and weaknesses of specific product lines. Read on for sample brand loyalty survey questions and examples.

Metric 1: Customer satisfaction

First, asking about overall customer satisfaction helps you understand how, in general, your products and services are meeting or (better yet) exceeding customer expectations.

You might ask questions like:

1. How convenient is our company to use?
2. Compared to our competitors, is our product quality better, worse, or about the same?
3. How well do our customer service representatives answer your questions?
4. How likely are you to recommend us to others?

Loyalty builds when customers become committed to your brand and make repeat purchases over time. You want to understand what is inspiring that commitment on their part.

Metric 2: Trust

All brands must earn and retain the trust of their customers to ensure loyalty, but trust is especially important for brands that handle sensitive information, such as banks, online retailers, or healthcare providers.

If your brand handles sensitive information, assess the level of trust your customers feel for your brand. Ask questions like:

1. Do you trust our brand?
2. How did we earn your trust?
3. How do we keep your trust?

Use responses to questions about trust to inform the products you offer–and target your brand messaging accordingly.

Metric 3: Esteem

Brand esteem or goodwill is customers’ respect for and attraction to a particular brand. It’s not to be confused with brand awareness or familiarity, which is the level of recognition of a brand. While a brand might be well known (a good thing), it may not in fact be well regarded (not a good thing). Brand esteem is about the favorable sentiment toward a brand.

You can use a series of questions to distinguish brand awareness from brand esteem:

1. Have you heard of our brand before? (familiarity)
2. How well do you know our brand? (familiarity)
3. How positively do you regard our brand? (esteem)
4. Do you prefer our brand over our competitor? (esteem)

Metrics 4 and 5: Perceived quality and value

Metrics 4 and 5: Perceived quality and value
A customer’s perceived quality of a brand is their opinion of a particular product’s, service’s or brand’s ability to fulfill his or her expectations:

1. How reliable would you consider our brand?
2. How would you rate the quality of our product?

Closely related is perceived value, which is a consumer’s opinion of a product’s value to him or her specifically.

For example, a person might view Tesla Motors as a brand that produces innovative, attractive electric vehicles that amaze and delight and would rate perceived quality quite high. However, if that same person considers the price tag to be a bit too steep, the perceived value might be low for her or him specifically.

Here are some brand loyalty survey question examples that measure perceived value:

1. How valuable is [brand or product] to you?
2. How likely would it be for you to switch brands if an alternative brand was sold in a more convenient location?
3. How likely would it be for you to switch brands if an alternative brand was cheaper?