12 statistics that show why your company should invest in loyalty (especially during a crisis)

If the pandemic changed the economic scenario and consumer relations, then empathy and loyalty programs have never been more important than now. In this context, surveys such as the Brand Intimacy Study 2020, conducted by MBLM, already point to a significant increase in the emotional connection between brands and consumers.

This connection turns into a bond when the customer's trust is conquered. And trust cannot be bought, it must be earned. No matter what your industry, your consumer is more connected to your actions during the current crisis, as shown by the Kantar Thermometer 2020, conducted in more than 50 markets around the world. Among respondents, 40% are concerned about what companies are doing to guide change in relation to the crisis.

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 report, conducted with 22,000 participants in 11 countries, shows that brand trust is essential for people to remain engaged and loyal.

In the case of Brazilian consumers, 69% appreciate when brands announce their actions to help others during the crisis. In addition, 78% state that they are likely to share or repost content about that company, and recommend it to others and defend it against critics. These are some of the consequences when it comes to loyalty.

Retaining customers and making them loyal is a task that you should certainly consider in order to maintain lasting relationships with increasingly engaged people. In fact, it is already widespread that investing in loyalty is cheaper than winning new customers. Investments in marketing and communication, traffic generation for your website and social networks, among other strategies to win new customers, cost five times more than keeping an existing customer.

Despite this, there are still few companies that invest in loyalty for different reasons. Among them is the difficulty of dealing with data management, one of the essential processes to structure loyalty programs that really bring results. We are not just talking about points and miles programs, but really understanding the customer's needs and offering what they really need at the right time, and this is a task that Indico knows well how to do.

If you are not convinced yet about the importance of loyalty programs, we will give you some statistics for you to think about.

- Loyalty leaders increase their revenues about 2.5 times faster than their competitors, and provide 2 to 5 times the return to stockholders in 10 years. (Harvard Business Review,2020);

- 74% of loyalty participants around the world agree that loyalty programs make them more likely to continue doing business with a company. (Nielsen Global Retail Loyalty Report, 2016);

- 72% agree that they will buy from a retailer with a loyalty program rather than one without. (Nielsen Global Retail Loyalty Report, 2016);

- 52% of surveyed consumers say they will buy their favorite brand even if it is cheaper and more convenient to buy a competing product. (KPMG, 2019);

- Of those consumers who are loyal to a brand, 86% will recommend it to others. (KPMG, 2019);

- 60% of consumers are loyal to a brand because they felt a personal experience and empathy with it. (KPMG, 2019);

- Consumers love gamification. When a loyalty program uses goal setting, countdowns, and virtual rewards, the program experiences double satisfaction. 56% of surveyed organizations use gamification in their loyalty programs. (Bond Loyalty Report, 2019);

- Consumers desire ease and simplicity. Nearly 6 out of 10 consumers worldwide agree that loyalty programs are too difficult to join and/or earn rewards. This proportion increases to 80% in Brazil. (KPMG, 2019);

- 39% of those who regularly participate in loyalty programs are interested in experiential rewards, such as tickets to a show or private cooking lessons. (Forrester Research, 2017).

If you think your company needs a loyalty program (we certainly think so), but don't know where to start, let us help you :)

We deeply understand the importance of an effective data driven loyalty program and have been doing it for over 10 years. Contact us and download our ebook if you want to learn more about how we combine loyalty and data to build the best customer relationship and engagement strategy with your brand.

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍