NEW YORK—As audiences fragment and the competition for the attention of consumers grows ever more heated, a new survey from Brand Keys highlights some of the companies and brands that are doing the best job of keeping consumer loyalty.
Its 27th annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI) assessment surveyed 95,607 consumers, 16 to 65 years of age regarding 1,200 brands in 114 categories.
In the media and entertainment industries the survey identified what Brand Keys is calling some clear “brand loyalty juggernauts” in the areas of streaming, cable news, sports leagues, broadcast news and other areas.
The companies that rated highest, with a top score of 100, in consumer loyalty and their ability to meet consumer expectations included:
- Streaming Video: Netflix (85%)
- Evening News (Cable): Fox and MSNBC (85%)
- Evening News (Network): NBC (80%)
- Major League Sports: NFL (81%)
- Morning News (Cable): Fox and Friends (83%)
- Morning News (Network): Good Morning America (76%)
- Gaming: FIFA 23 & Hogwart’s Legacy (87%)
“This year’s roster proves meeting or exceeding consumers’ expectations allows brands to transmute market-share and loyalty into category and market dominance. Those brands are ‘Loyalty Juggernauts’ – brands of such overwhelming economic force that their ability to meet expectations makes them far more powerful than universal awareness alone,” noted Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys founder and president.
“The loyalty paradigm has changed dramatically since the Cola Wars of the ’70s,” he added. “Today, loyalty – and consumer choice – don’t come down to one-or-the-other options. Today’s loyalty bottom-line comes down to consumers’ deepest expectations, and how they feel which brand measures up best. Customer behavior and brand loyalty are now almost entirely governed by emotional values related to expectations, and expectations grow constantly.”
The survey also found that in this year’s survey, broadcast and entertainment category expectations increased 42% YoY, but most brands have only kept up on average by 9%. Loyalty Juggernauts reduce that gap up to 50%, thereby virtually guaranteeing ongoing and consistent customer loyalty, the study found.
The researchers also stressed that in a period of rising consumer expectations, brand loyalty has tangible economic benefits.
“The ability to meeting those very high consumer expectations better than the competition acts like the ‘super glue’ of loyalty,” said Passikoff. “Brands create a virtually unbreakable bond with customers.”
“Identify what consumers expect – create strategies, advertising and experiences that meet those expectations, and your brand can transform into a Loyalty Juggernaut,” he continued. “Customers will be six times more likely to engage, buy and buy again. They are six times more likely to think of you first, pay more attention to your marketing and social networking activities and actively engage with your brand. That’s the real payoff – blockbuster category leadership and more effective marketing.”
The report also described some of the benefits in terms of costs and marketing efforts that brand loyalty can create:
- It costs 16 times more to recruit a new customer than keep an existing one.
- A 5% increase in loyalty lifts lifetime profits per customer as much as 78%.
- A 5% loyalty-increase is equal to a 12-21% across-the-board cost reduction program.
A complete list of the 2024 CLEI Brand Juggernauts in their categories can be found at https://brandkeys.com/customer-loyalty-engagement-index/
