How do Brands Create Loyalty?

In the top 10 brand loyalty list Apple is listed three times, and Amazon and Samsung is listed twice.  1. Apple tablets 2. Amazon tablets 3. Apple smart phones 4. Amazon online retail 5. Apple computers 6. Samsung tablets 7. Call of Duty video games 8. Samsung cell phones 9. Halo video games 10. Twitter social network.  All of these companies work very hard for brand loyalty.  Many of them improved from last year as well.  What this chart doesn’t tell us is the products and companies that have greatly improved from last year.  Ford improved 47 spots from #86 to #39 in the top 100.  General Motors went from not even being listed in the top 100 last year to being listed at #68.  A couple years ago the American car companies had to be bailed out of bankruptcy from the U.S. government.  Now they are doing better than ever before.  I would say that it’s because of their increase in brand loyalty.  Hyundai isn’t doing as well as it has been doing in the previous years, it is now ranked #25.  It was ranked #7 last year ("Apple").

Brands create loyalty in many ways.  One way is to create a rewards program.  When you use the reward program card you gain points that you can later use to buy things with those points.  These programs started with American Airlines in 1981 when they introduced their frequent flyer points.  When this is the case, why would you use any other product?  And that’s the point.  Companies want you to keep coming back to gain the reward points so that you can get “free” things later.  The fact is that in some cases it would be cheaper to go to other companies who don’t have reward programs – like Wal-Mart. ("PBT Consulting." ).

            Other ways to gain brand loyalty is to reach the customers on an emotional level.  Robert Brunner, an author of multiple books about brand loyalty, said, "We are all emotional beings and we have emotional relationships with brands we trust. Designers need to make that happen. A designer must take the values and assets of a company and transform them in a special way that connects with people emotionally ("PBT Consulting." )."  When people become emotionally attached to the brand they feel bad about not buying it, and that’s what every company tries to achieve.

            Another way to gain brand loyalty is to have a good brand design.  Brunner also said, "Design can make a difference in how we live.  Take sustainability. A lot of what is done in that area is 'making bad, better.' We're taking wasteful things and seeing how we can make them not so bad. We need to start thinking about how we can use our design tools to encourage people to change. You do that by making 'doing better' also be fun, interesting and (importantly) the path of least resistance. And you do it in an encouraging, not controlling, way. Design needs to do that in order to reach a larger audience than just the small group that is socially driven."  If people see that you are making the world a better place they will feel more comfortable buying that product ("PBT Consulting." ). 

            Companies do a lot to try to influence brand loyalty.