Accenture Strategy’s 12th annual Global Consumer Pulse Research indicates there are new factors influencing customer relationships that in turn are driving loyalty with brands.
The report — which surveyed 25,426 consumers in 33 countries, of which 2,532 were in the U.S., on their brand loyalty status — said most organizations are wasting billions on customer loyalty programs that don’t work. In the U.S., 78 percent of those surveyed said they retract their loyalty quicker today than they did three years ago, while 54 percent said they switched service providers in the past year. Further 8 percent said they have a negative reaction when companies try and earn their loyalty.
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As for what gets a consumer’s attention in the U.S., Accenture found that almost one-fifth of the U.S consumers surveyed said what makes them loyal to a brand or service provider today is entirely different compared with three years ago.
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The respondents at 85 percent ranked being trustworthy — as in safeguarding and respecting the privacy of personal information — the top priority, while 81 percent cited respecting my time by leaving me alone — as in minimal e-mail or phone contact — as another top loyalty factor. Ranking third at 69 percent was a simple acknowledgement of one’s loyalty for being a longtime customer. Also important in keeping a consumer’s loyalty, at 59 percent, was some small reward, such as a gift card, discount or special offer.
Consumers also cited the ability to personalize products they buy, supporting common causes such as environmental or charitable and connecting them to other brands via the exchange of loyalty points or rewards as other factors that help with maintaining loyalty to a given brand or retailer.
Robert Wollan, senior managing director and global lead of Accenture Strategy’s Advanced Customer Strategy, said what’s new this time are the five “languages of loyalty” that are being driven by Millennial consumers. “Millennials are forcing companies to rethink how they create and sustain loyalty over time,” he said.
Those five languages were dubbed: Token of Affection (some form of loyalty reward); Get to Know Me (Millennials at 64 percent want the ability to personalize a product, compared with just 29 percent of Baby Boomers); Thrill Seekers (Millennials are loyal to brand that engage them to design or co-create a product); If You Like It, I Like It (favoring brands that partner with celebrities, bloggers or vloggers), and Hook Me Up (these are loyal to brands that connect them to other companies through an exchange of rewards or loyalty points).