SPONSORED CONTENT
Perspectives from Ron Ruffinott of TolunaÂ
It’s become clear that we’re not going back to normal. How can brands engage customers in this new climate?
Brand loyalty is more important than ever and today’s consumers are more inclined to support brands whose values align with their own. In fact, Toluna’s recent Barometer showed that 57% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that aligns with their values, while 38% have stopped shopping with brands that don’t.Â
The same research showed that more than half (51%) of consumers prioritize sustainability and environmental friendliness as a core value. Humanitarian issues (34%) and supporting racial equality (27%) and gender equality (26%) are also key issues for consumers. Traditional brand values continue to remain important, such as customer support (48%) and value for money (47%); however, these shifting attitudes show that consumers are demanding much more than good service.
How do brands appeal to consumers’ values?
With values increasingly more important to today’s consumer, brands must demonstrate that they stand for something – to participate in culture, society and politics; to show that they are environmentally friendly or support humanitarian issues.Â
Purchasing behaviors are now motivated by these myriad factors and consumers expect brands to communicate how they fit with these values. It’s natural that consumer loyalties will align with brands that understand what’s important to them.
How do we measure brand health when change is constant?
In order to effectively measure brand health, the way in which we measure it must fundamentally change. Traditional legacy models will simply no longer be useful in this rapidly changing environment. Anymore, we can’t simply score a brand on its past or current successes. As consumer sentiment changes faster than ever, we need a new model to measure brand health that also determines whether a brand is perceived to be relevant to consumers in the future.Â
Big name brands might be rated as having very strong brand health on the traditional model, but when their future relevance is considered, their score drops significantly. Conversely, disruptor brands who don’t have any current success to measure might have very strong future relevance and therefore receive a higher score.
Is customer loyalty a thing of the past?
Customer loyalty isn’t dead – but the things that drive loyalty have been permanently altered. Values now sway purchasing decisions more than ever, so brands need to clearly communicate where they stand to attract customers that align with those values. The only way to do this is for brands to have access to accurate, on-demand consumer insights that will enable them to truly understand what’s important for their customers today while helping them understand what will be important to them in future. Knowledge is power and the more understanding and data brands can put behind their strategic decisions, the more they can mitigate the risk attached to those decisions and build long-term customer loyalty.
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