Value for money has been named the most important brand characteristic for building customer loyalty, chosen by 77 per cent of respondents in a new study by leading app comparison website for small businesses, GetApp, followed by quality of products and services (64 per cent).
Other incentives to drive customers to buy from a new brand are reviews, cited by more than half (54 per cent) of respondents, which can help influence a purchasing decision.
The study indicates that loyal customers can themselves become advocates for a brand. The majority (79 per cent) of survey respondents said they would recommend a brand to their family and friends to express their loyalty, promote a brand’s reputation, and help acquire new customers. Another popular way of showing loyalty to a brand is by joining a loyalty program, selected by over half of the respondents (57 per cent).
Seventy-two per cent of respondents said they would engage with their favourite brands by downloading their mobile app if they had one. Among those who would do so, over three quarters (76%) of respondents would like a brand’s app to have a loyalty program feature.
When sharing personal data and information with brands, most respondents (78 per cent) would be most willing to share their email address (78 per cent), sex/gender identity information (74 per cent), as well as birthday and age information (72 per cent).
More than two-thirds (67 per cent) of survey respondents rarely stop buying from a brand if they are satisfied with the product or service. Of those customers who stopped buying from a brand during 2022, just over half (51 per cent) said they stopped doing so because of a price increase. However, 28 per cent did so because of a reduction in quality.
“Building a reputable brand can go a long way to secure customer loyalty for a business. Most Australian participants in our study say they express their loyalty by recommending a brand to their family and friends. The benefits of customer loyalty genuinely create brand ambassadors, who promote a brand’s reputation and acquire new customers,” GetApp Australia content analyst, Andrew Blair said.
This article originally appeared on RetailBiz.
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