Why Brands Need to Drill into Data to Cure Customer Loyalty Decay
Have you walked into a mall lately? If so, you have probably seen a staggering sight, as every other storefront is blackened with an absence of the sights and sounds common twenty years ago. New shops open and close in rapid succession, while the old staples continue to fight and fall, disappearing into memory.
This isn’t the shop owners’ fault. They just aren’t relevant to the shoppers of today. With the rise of social anxiety and the simplicity of online purchases and delivery, leaving the house to go to a mall to shop is an inconvenience, where it used to be a fun way to spend the afternoon.
And the customer data supports this information. Statistically, the market caters now to the stay-at-home customer over the window shopper, giving so many options for purchasing, shipping, and speedy delivery, brick and mortar options can’t compete. What was once instant shopping gratification has become available through sites like Amazon.
Customers Intention Matrix
A large part of the problem is in the evolving nature of the customer. As the customer changes, the sales data has to adjust to compensate. It used to be as simple as providing a reasonably good quality product with a fair yet decent price point and making sure they know where it is sold.
Now many factors previously unheard of coming into play. Things like demographics, which were always relevant, but more so now, are a tremendous indicator of potential sales traffic. A few other factors, like brand relevance and evaluation, purchase intention, and how far they get through the process, and peripheral usage, are key to customer intent.
How It Pertains to Gaming
This is relevant in many areas, but in gaming, it is crucial. Be it console gaming or online gaming via a computer, the data shows how deep into the brand customers will go to ensure the best purchase. They check quality based on brand attention, evaluations of testing performance, and even seek brand loyalty to their playing platform.
If PlayStation releases a new game, or a casino releases a new demo like Halloween Spiel, gamers, players, and anyone else relevant to the consumer market for gaming will mine deep to be 100% sure they aren’t going to get a lemon. Platforms have had false starts that have left games leery.
Updates upon updates, after the game, is raced to market. This is frustrating to the consumer and, eventually, makes them seek their game elsewhere, or give up entirely, switching genres or developers.Â
Not to mention the add-ons, expansions, and additional tech needed to fully immerse in the experience. And that doesn’t touch on in-game stuff the developers spring on the customer after launch. Players hate surprises but are becoming expectant of them, as is shown on this graph of purchases across gaming mediums
How to Fix It
Improving customer behaviour has to start with comprehensive drilling into the data to determine why they are heading for the hills, or at least to the competition. Sometimes it is as simple as shoddy customer service when there is an issue. But more often, the product is the problem. The market is so quick to deliver, they are providing garbage.
Focus groups, market tests, relevance – all have to be considered, and they are. Still, the time to do these comprehensively is whittled down so much, steps are being skipped, and, thus, inadequate and untested products are released, painting the brand badly when they fail and receive poor reviews.Â
Customer loyalty cannot be bribed back; it has to be won back. It is taking the time, going through the rigorous evaluations, taking it back to formula if it is a dud, and biting the bullet if it will cost too much. The customer doesn’t care how you put out a better product, just that it is put out and is the quality they expect from your brand.
Taking It to The Drawing Board
What do you sell and who will buy it? The fundamental question of commerce. If it is a service, who needs it? If it is a toy, what children will want to have it? The steps are there, but while you are trying to figure out the customer program by dancing the waltz, your target consumer is doing the hokey pokey.
It’s not a hard code to crack. It’s as simple as it has always been, just with a few more details:
- Know your customers
- Evolve with the times, not the trends
- Think outside the box. Innovation is your friend.
- Stay relevant to marketing
- Keep an open mind
Sometimes you might have to sell an item at a loss to get a more significant ticket sale on the back end. It will come out in the wash, so that is ok. All marketing that matters is done online. Learn Google and Facebook ads and provide coupons on Twitter. And never forget that you are a brand, so anything you do online can help or hurt you.
If something isn’t working, just like in sports, take it down to the fundamentals. You might have lost something in a rush to be the first round of the next curve, that your customers feel like they don’t matter, or that your products are not worth having. So, take a breath, slow it down, and see the big picture, not just the dollar signs.
Conclusion
Staying with the competitive market is all about keeping your ear to the ground and realizing it those hoofbeats are always horses and never zebras. People want what you have, but they want it more if you can give it to them faster, cheaper, and still high quality. If you figure out how to do that, you are one step closer to getting back that customer loyalty you desire.
Have you had any experience with customer behaviour shifting?
- Why Brands Need to Drill into Data to Cure Customer Loyalty Decay - February 18, 2021
