Which Brands Have the Most Loyal Customers?

Perhaps our subject question should more appropriately be "Which brands are imbued with the most emotional value?"

Why two different questions? Well, we've long known that loyalty is absolutely driven by emotion. But based on this year's Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders List it's absolutely clear that when it comes to loyalty (and brand profitability), consumers are looking to emotionally connect more than ever before.

Of the 501 brands in 70 categories on this year's list, here's who made the top-10:

Apple iPhone
Samsung cell phones
Wal-Mart
Grey Goose
Apple Computers
Hyundai
Amazon
J. Crew
Blackberry
Avis

For a more thorough analysis of this years leaders and laggers we invite you to read Noreen O'Leary's Brandweek article, "Consumers Most Loyal to Tech and Cosmetics." If that title surprised you, remember that the 'emotional engagement' that women share with beauty brands is very powerful, and that there are few things consumers take more personally than the technology that keeps them connected.

Click here for a complete listing of the 501 brands.

http://www.brandkeys.com/awards/leaders.cfm


Brand Keys, Inc. partner of
Brand Lounge in the Middle East
www.brandloungeme.com

3R's of Back-To-School

It's not only parents happy to see their children go back to school in the next few weeks. Retailers are also celebrating. According to our annual Back-To-School survey, average spend for clothing and supplies is up 10% over a year ago, or $584.


The consumer's view of the traditional retail 3R's used to be 'retailer,' 'rates,' and 'requirements,' - which retailer was offering the best prices for stuff the kids really needed. But as parents have already earned their Ph.D.'s in smart back-to-school shopping, this year 'requirements' has moved to the head of the class.

Unlike other major purchase events like Mother's Day, there's a more lopsided distribution in terms of which retailers will be the beneficiaries of back-to-school shopping: Discount Stores 95%, Department Stores 60%, Office Supply 55%, Online 50%, Specialty Retailers 45%, and Catalogs 35%. For some lessons as to parents' shopping plans, we invite you to read Jill Radsken's Boston Herald article, "Class Action."


The top-10 retailers who got A's in consumers' intent-to-shop were:



1. Amazon

2. Bed, Bath, and Beyond

3. Gap

4. J. Crew

5. Kohl's Footlocker

6. Nike

7. Staples

8. Target

9. TJ Maxx

10. Zappos



What brands get what piece of the academic pie is ultimately determined by what retail brands actually stand for. Brand meaning can quickly matriculate into surrogates for added-value, and these days you don't need a crib-sheet to discover that consumers seek out brands that possess meaning and act more positively to those retailers who do as well.


And that behavior should be a fundamental lesson for all retailers.


Brand Keys, Inc. partner of
Brand Lounge in the Middle East
www.brandloungeme.com

Brand is Grand

The "Decade of the Brand" opens with 2010 as consumers continue to search for meaningful value-and use brands as a critical variable in the value equation.


For all 518 brands in the 71 categories tracked in Brand Keys' 14th annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index®, attributes and loyalty drivers relating to "brand" have increased dramatically. And while a powerful finding, it's not entirely surprising. Our 2009 findings predicted that value, not price, was the watchword in consumer behavior. And you can't have the value conversation without the brand conversation, and that makes brands a surrogate for value and more important than ever.


But we're talking about brands - real brands, not just well-known products and services or the latest celebrity-endorsed offerings that stand for nothing in consumers' minds. The desire for real brands that mean something has reached its highest level of consequence since the 1960's, and real loyalty and engagement assessments can tell you what you really need to know: how consumers will behave in the marketplace, and most importantly, what will get them to behave more positively toward you.


For additional insights into 2010 consumer loyalty we invite you to read Noreen O'Leary's Brandweek review, "Starbucks and Wells Fargo Surge in Customer Loyalty." The complete listing of the 71 category rankings can be found at www.brandkeys.com/awards


At a time when brands are struggling to differentiate from their competition and to find ways to profitably engage their customers, the changes this year serve as a 'bellwether' for marketing managers. It will be the products and services that dig in the right place, based on a truly consumer-centric view of their category that will strike gold, and establish themselves as this decade's brand leaders.


Brand Keys, Inc. partner of
Brand Lounge in the Middle East
www.brandloungeme.com