Customers have so many options when it comes to making a purchase. Technological advancements have made it easier to shop from the most convenient places. Whether via a website, their favorite retailer, or their preferred social media app. Customers have choices, but how can you capture their attention and keep it as a modern luxury brand?
In this episode of Luxury Cultivated, I’ll be going over the importance of building brand loyalty so you can create a captivating brand experience.
Why is Brand Loyalty Important?
When you have a customer base that is loyal to your brand, you’ll discover that they will rarely substitute your brand for other brands.
We all have our tried and true brands that we love and will most likely never substitute, no matter what happens in the world.
It’s the trusted brand we recommend to friends, family, and colleagues.
59% of American consumers state that once they are loyal to a brand, they’re loyal to it for life. – Source
Brand loyalty is important to create as a business owner because it reinforces the trust between you and your customers. It also gives you a level of reassurance that you’ll have a dedicated customer base regardless of how the world pivots.
As I know, many of you can relate to wanting to have a more solid customer base where you don’t feel like you’re constantly looking for new customers.
So How do You Build Brand Loyalty As a Luxury Brand?
Brand loyalty begins with your overall branding, not your brand’s visual identity, like your logo, colors, fonts, and imagery, but the feeling and self-described beliefs that your brand exudes in the market.
It’s easy to create a beautiful-looking brand but to create a brand that taps into people’s emotions and beliefs about themselves is where the real secret lies.
While someone may be initially attracted to how a Chanel bag looks, what they are purchasing is how it makes them feel when they use it.
Similarly, to someone who is wearing red lipstick. Though it adds a small adjustment to their appearance, their confidence throughout their day may involve more confident decision-making.
Your brand is no different, so it’s important to ask: how do I want my brand to make people feel?
With that said, here are some ways you can build brand loyalty as a luxury brand.
The first place to start is with your luxury brand strategy or strategic plan of how your business operates in the market. A solid strategy will incorporate your customer’s wants, needs, and desires. Therefore, helping you to easily bridge the gap between what they want and desire with your brand’s message.
I strongly believe you should build a brand loyalty aspect into your luxury brand strategy so it can be easily articulated in your overall brand messaging and marketing. That way, it’s working for your business from the beginning and not later. Of course, that is not always the case but is highly recommended.
Truly understand what inspired your customers to purchase your products. Do you know that 83% of consumers state that it takes them 3 or more purchases to build brand loyalty?
Find out why your customers are purchasing your products over another option is it the feeling, quality, cost, limited options, etc.?
You can simply discover the answers to these questions by asking them through customer surveys, reviews, comments left on social media posts, inside any communities you’ve created, and more.
This information will help you to identify where to focus your efforts to increase repeat purchases and recommendations from others.
Another way brand loyalty can be created is through building a community. Having a space where potential and existing customers connect can greatly amplify your product sales and increase brand loyalty. Plus, members of your community will help to educate and inform others about products. Therefore, creating a cycle of customer-generated sales and recommendations.
Think about the effectiveness of using this strategy. It would allow you to have greater control and visibility to your audience, especially as it’s getting harder and harder to capture the attention of your target audience on social media platforms unless you are paying to gain that attention.
If you haven’t thought about building an online community for your brand. Now is the time to set aside some time to think about how one can be created for your brand. More social media platforms are heading toward charging for access through ads, paid subscription plans, etc.
Incentivize your customers through a rewards program. People love getting rewarded for shopping, and the simplest way to approach incentivizing your customers is through a rewards program. It can be anything from allowing them to earn points that give them a certain amount off for a future purchase, complimentary shipping, or even early access.
I preface to say that if you are going this route, make sure the rewards program is worth it for the customer. Think about how you can make it more enticing to join. Do they get something or have a more elevated experience than someone who isn’t in the program?
Don’t just install an app on your Shopify store. Ensure that your rewards program has been thoughtfully designed and strategically created. This program should also involve your luxury brand strategy and be an extension of your brand.
Provide an excellent customer experience. This should be obvious, but you’d be surprised how many brands fail to plan their customer experience or train their employees on how to handle customer interactions. As a modern luxury brand, customer service and your customer’s experience should be a top priority as you want to continue to build and nurture your relationship.
It’s important to ensure that your customers feel cared for, as this will greatly influence whether or not they continue shopping with you. It doesn’t matter how amazing your products are if your customer service is poor. A customer will quickly switch to another provider with better service.
Ensure you have guidelines on customer engagement for your business, and train anyone you hire on these guidelines.
So there is a cohesive experience no matter who your customer interacts with. Also, if you know that you, as a founder, aren’t great at handling sticky customer situations, I recommend hiring someone who is an expert to handle that for you. There is no need to get dragged on social media because you can’t let go of control.
And if you are wondering if situations like this happen. The answer is yes, unfortunately.
So set the standard in your business or change practices that aren’t helping your customers have a memorable experience they enjoy sharing with others.
Lastly, design an intentional experience that fosters positive memories. One of my favorite examples of this is Disney. Most people love Disney for the happy memories they get. Each ride, souvenir shop, restaurant, and more are intentionally designed.
Last year, I had the fortunate opportunity to be in a meeting with a Disney Imagineer, and I learned so much about how they create amazing experiences for their guests. It also gave me great insight into how I could help my clients create better experiences, whether they shop online or in person.
It’s one of the reasons why I constantly talk about experiences over just offering a product or service. Experiences are memorable and are often shared with positive news.
Consider every possible interaction your customer will have with your business and plan it accordingly.
It’s also important to periodically assess your customer journey and adjust for any changes so you can operate with excellence.
Also, don’t fear feedback, as it will improve your business.
So there you have it 5 ways your luxury brand can build brand loyalty.
Be sure to check this episode’s show notes for additional resources to help elevate your luxury brand & eCommerce experience.
Have a fabulous week ahead!
