Transform your brand into a LOVEMARK and increase customer loyalty.

Article overview

These days, consumers find themselves in a unique yet challenging position, with unlimited access to a wide range of products and services. This aspect can be challenging for both consumers, as the decision-making process becomes increasingly difficult, and for brands, as they compete harder for the customer's attention. According to Google & Kantar Smart Shopper studies, 75% of consumers prefer one or very few retailers, compared to previous years, when there was a higher tendency to choose multi-brand. To overcome this obstacle, brands need to stand out in front of consumers and create a relationship with them; in order to transform themselves into a LOVEMARK.

Continue reading the article below and discover what it means to be a beloved brand, the steps you need to follow, and the advantages it can bring, both in terms of sales and customer loyalty.

What is a Lovemark?

Conceptualized by Kevin Roberts in 2004, the term "lovemark" is used to describe a brand that has formed an emotional connection between itself and its consumers. These brands go beyond traditional marketing strategies, focusing on emotions, such as loyalty and affection, that they inspire to people. They constantly seek ways to engage with consumers and consistently form connections with them. The emotional connection comes as a result of the brand's ability to inspire admiration, respect, and trust in consumers, all of which lead to a stronger relationship between the two of them.

Why should you have a beloved brand?

A beloved brand is based on building a strong relationship with its customers, which can positively influence its longevity. When customers have a strong emotional connection with a brand, the likelihood that they will remain loyal when choosing among multiple brands offering similar products/services increases, thus creating a cycle of customer acquisition and retention. Even if the offer made by the competition may seem more attractive, if the relationship between the brand and the consumer is stable, there is a high chance that the customers will stay loyal to the brand. This way, businesses can shield themselves from market changes and create a more stable and predictable revenue stream.

At the same time, when a consumer feels close to a brand, they may tend to promote it and recommend it to others (word-of-mouth marketing). The more beloved a brand is to its customers, the better it can withstand market challenges. For example, customers that are emotionally attached to a brand are often willing to pay a premium subscription for its products or services, which can contribute to increasing the overall value of the brand. This can be particularly important in today's competitive market, where consumers have more options than ever and expect higher levels of value and quality.

From Brand to Lovemark

Here are some strategies you can try if you want to turn your brand into a lovemark.

1. Build an unique and consistent brand identity

Make sure your brand generates positive emotions among consumers when they see and hear its name. Your brand's identity should reinforce its values in the minds of customers and help them recognize it whenever they interact with anything related to the brand. Thus, the positive connotation associated with the brand will make consumers prefer it over the competition.

For example, if you're a local producer, it's recommended to emphasize this and the story behind the brand. Let's take the example of the Romanian footwear manufacturer - Marelbo, one of our clients. The brand constantly communicates not only the attributes of its products (genuine leather, good quality-price ratio, etc.), but also periodically mentions the backstory and the traditional elements that represent the foundation of the company.

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2. Emphasize emotion

When promoting your brand, emphasize specific emotions that resonate with your target audience. Encourage consumers to see beyond the product's attributes and appeal to their emotional side; what needs can your product fulfill and how will it make them feel.

Another example that comes to mind is the Romanian app SelfPay Now, with which we have the pleasure to work. It is the first app in Europe that allows real-time cash loading onto any bank card. Through the app, users can instantly deposit cash onto any bank card issued in Romania and even onto Revolut cards, using one of the 10,000+ payment stations nationwide. In the online campaigns, the brand emphasizes the authentic and friendly approach to addressing the needs of Romanian consumers.

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3. Intrigue your audience

A key characteristic of a lovemark is mystery. You can use marketing campaigns and promotions to capture the attention of customers and spark their interest, so they are tempted to learn more about the promoted product/service. The more a brand stays updated with market trends and the preferences and interests of its target audience, the more it can adapt its marketing strategy to generate interest and keep its audience engaged.

Now that we've explained why it's so important to have a beloved brand, and also presented a few strategies that you can use to transform your business into a lovemark, let's focus on one of the most relevant characteristics of these brands, which is customer loyalty.

How does customer loyalty benefit us?

When a consumer is drawn to a brand and begins to make recurring purchases from it and prefer it over other similar brands, we can say that the customer has become loyal to the brand. 

For a brand to survive and thrive in the market, it needs to focus on building customer loyalty, moving beyond the rational and emphasizing the emotional aspect. The more a brand strives to provide a positive experience to a customer throughout the purchase journey, the higher the chances that the customer will return for another purchase. Additionally, people may be more willing to try more products or services from a brand with which they have had only positive experiences, which can further lead to larger purchases. 

Furthermore, aside from the fact that a loyal customer is more likely to buy from a brand they trust, they are also likely to recommend the brand to others after having a pleasant shopping experience. These mini "ambassadors" help the brand skip a few of the initial steps in the acquisition process and make it more efficient, without the brand having to put in any extra effort.

Customer Loyalty Strategies

Now that we've established some of the main benefits of customer loyalty, we'll present some of the most effective strategies that contribute to this process.

1. Personalized Communication

It's important that you personalize your communication as much as possible. Personalized messages create a sense of importance for customers. You can use in-app messages (remind them they've added products to their cart, inform them when favorite items are on sale, or when promotions are happening). Furthermore, email marketing can be a very useful way to build loyalty and stay top of mind. Your newsletter subscribers can receive special offers for their birthdays, reminders, personalized promotions, and messages directed specifically to them.

2. Show Them They Matter

In addition to all the promotional messages and offers, it's important to stay in touch with those who have already made a purchase from your website, both to remind them of their experience with your site and to encourage them to take action. For example, you can send messages asking about their experience with their purchase and encourage them to leave a review. Also, if a customer hasn't been active for a long time, you can send a reminder newsletter about your brand (messages like - Hey, did you forget about us?). 

3. Loyalty Programs

Some businesses naturally achieve a certain level of customer loyalty without specifically investing in a loyalty initiative. However, by implementing a reward program, you can attract new customers and strengthen relationships with existing ones. Such a program contributes to increasing customer loyalty by stimulating consistent purchases, offering discounts, or certain products as rewards. Depending on the nature of your business, you can offer various rewards (discounts on monthly subscriptions, gifts after a certain number of orders, free shipping for loyal customers, etc.).

4. Well-Organized Customer Service

An important step in attracting customer loyalty is ensuring that customers know they can rely on your brand to address their questions or issues. It's crucial for brands to show willingness to resolve any queries or problems customers encounter as quickly as possible. This can be achieved by implementing a chat system on the website (where answers to frequently asked questions are already available, and customers have the option to speak with a specialized person if the provided information isn't helpful enough). Additionally, it's recommended for every brand to offer the option to speak with a customer service representative when a customer encounters an issue. 

Next steps?

Analyze your brand and see from what perspectives it can be improved and which of the recommendations and strategies presented above would be helpful. Start implementing those and monitor the results.

About Optimized

Our team consists of experts in Performance Marketing, especially in eCommerce. Every day, we gather information and strive to learn more about our clients and their needs. We operate on the principle of anticipating results and the growth of a business, for their success and ours. Together.