Identifying Loyal and Disconnected Customer Segments

Brand loyalty is a tricky metric to measure, and has an incredible amount of importance placed upon it within the boardroom. Traditional customer loyalty strategies are typically aimed at consumers as a whole, providing rewards for repeat purchases and the length of time they remain 'loyal'. But these strategies aren't working as well as they theoretically should, which provokes the question: are we looking at loyalty is the wrong way?

It is commonly acknowledged that decisions are made on an individual basis, with many people believing that 56% of their decisions are based on their own personal views and beliefs. However, our recent research on consumer loyalty suggests that there is a large perception gap between consumer intention and behaviour. Additionally, there are two key customer segments that have been discovered: The Loyal (those who are more likely to award a brand their loyalty) and The Disconnected (those who are more likely to shop around the get what they need). 

With reference to political, social, and commercial situations, the infographic below explores how consumer decision-making is more of a group effort than we realise, how our sense of loyalty is impacted by this key concept, and how brands can use the two segments to re-frame their strategies and understanding of customer loyalty.

Tweetable Truths:

1. It is widely accepted that individuals have agency over their decisions, but research suggests that tribes have a larger role to play. (Click to Tweet)
2. When asked how they voted in the Brexit Referendum, 79% of people stated that everyone in their household voted the same way. (Click to Tweet)
3. 3 out of 5 customers would give a brand they have been a customer of for over a decade only 6 months to rectify a consistently bad experience. (Click to Tweet)

Understanding Consumer Loyalties

Researching Loyalty

When conducting this research we found that we had only scratched the surface of this complex topic. The current customer loyalty schemes only reward superficial loyalty, rather than delving deep and touching the true emotion. So, if loyalty is truly about attitudes and beliefs rather than behaviours and actions, what can brands do to grow a loyal customer base? 

Identifying the level of emotional attachment a brand's customers have to the brand is the first step in this process. The second being the identification of which tribes are most important to their customers. These two steps are crucial to understanding which of your customers belong in The Loyal segment and which belong in the Disconnected, providing a good starting point for future research on what brand behaviours impact their sense of loyalty the most. Another consideration to be gained from this research, is to remember that a lack of action should not be confused with Loyalty; a retained customer is not always a loyal one. 

With the promise of in-depth actionable insights into what drives their customers' sense of loyalty, businesses will definitely benefit from further research into this area.