Robert Passikoff of Brand Keys guest-writes for Loyalty 360's State of the Industry series:
Bottom Line: Beauty Trumps Technology, Retail Shines, and Amazon Pares Down Apple as Consumers Seek Emotional & Social Connections with Brands
The 2011 Loyalty Leaders List is out from Brand Keys, the New York-based brand and customer loyalty research consultancy (www.brandkeys.com). For many brands it's been a meteoric rise. For others it's been a slow and steady decline. In some cases a freefall. It all comes down to delighting the customer. Creating that essential emotional bond. Brands that do not only go to the top of the Loyalty List, but become top earners.
This year's Brand Keys list shows that some brands have suffered loyalty losses as consumers shifted to less expensive brands that had considerable meaning. But the rankings also prove that brands that understand how real emotional connections and delight serve as a surrogate for added-value will always create stronger loyalty bonds, no matter the economy.
Beauty brands, like Mary Kay, Estee Lauder, Crest Whitestrips, and Maybelline accounted for one-third (32%) of the Brand Keys Top-100 Loyalty Leaders, and of the 528 brands in 79 categories examined, the top-10 brands were:
1. Amazon
2. Apple (smartphone)
3. Facebook
4. Samsung (cellphone)
5. Apple (computer)
6. Zappos
7. Hyundai
8. Kindle
9. Patron (tequila)
10. Mary Kay (cosmetics)
Emotions Drive Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty has always been driven by emotion. Rankings indicate that more than ever consumers are looking to emotionally connect with brands that stand for something. And connect with each other too.
Social Networks Leap Into Prominence
Social network sites, a new category for 2011, had three of the six brands consumers named, not only in the top-100, but in the top-25 brands.
Loyalty Leaders Top-50
The top-50 ranked Loyalty Leaders is comprised of eight categories. Beauty brands account for 32% of the list. 'Emotional engagement' women share with their favorite beauty brands, while very powerful, also extends to technology, as consumers seek to customize their life experiences as well as their looks.
Tech - 20% of Top-50
Technology brands account for 20% of the top-50. Nothing is better at fueling a consumer connection than technology, although as tech brands have lost real meaning (turning what used to be "brands" into "category placeholders"), there are fewer tech brands on the list this year. Technology Loyalty Leaders include Apple, Samsung, Kindle, Google, LG, Bing, Sanyo, and Sony Ericcson.
Retailers Ring Up High Loyalty Ratings
Mirroring 2010 rankings, 16% of the top-50 Loyalty Leaders are retail brands. Amazon moved to the #1 spot, displacing the Apple iPhone (#2). Other retailers generally ranked lower than last year, an indicator of the challenges of the economy, and retailers' struggles to differentiate on something more than price. Brands included Zappos (#6), Wal-Mart (#13,), J. Crew (#21). Other retailers included Target (#33), Sam's Club (#38), Kohl's (#44), and BJ's (#50).
Strong Alcoholic Beverages Showing
Of the top 50 brands, 12% were alcoholic beverages, in the two categories surveyed: vodka and tequila. Vodka leaders included: Grey Goose, Ketel One, 3-Olives, and Stolichnaya. In tequila, it's Patron and Don Julio. No beer brand made it to the top-50 ranking this year. Sam Adams ranked #58.
Starbucks Soars - from 432 to 100
On the other side of the bar, Dunkin Donuts coffee (#12) and McDonald's coffee (#26) were the only other beverage brands to make the top-50. Starbucks, a brand synonymous with coffee, and in the process of brand reinvention, demonstrated the largest increase in the rankings, ending up in 100th place, up from #432 last year.
Auto Brands Run Out of Gas
Automotive loyalty rankings were generally unchanged. Hyundai parked in the #7 spot. Toyota, a perennial loyalty leader, #37 last year is now #59, feeling the effects of recalls, the tsunami, and the economy. It might have been worse for Toyota, but with loyalty comes 'The Rule of Six,' i.e, loyal consumers are six times more likely to give a brand the benefit of the doubt in uncertain circumstances.
Loyalty Leaders Top-100: Gains and Losses
Brands showing the greatest gains in loyalty, vaulting them into the top-100 included:
Starbucks (+352);
Skechers (+290);
Ford (+237); and
Overstock.com (+150)
Skechers invented a new athletic/exercise shoe category, Ford and Starbucks reinvented their brands, and Overstock has been slowly building loyalty and moving up the list.
Brands in the top-100 with the greatest losses were:
Nokia (-63),
Blackberry (-51),
Chanel cosmetics (-23),
Eucerin moisturizer (-23),
True Value (-21), and
3-Olives Vodka (-18)
Unlike economic use models, which rely heavily on historical data and profitability conjecture, the Brand Keys Loyalty Model and rankings are 100% consumer-driven, are independently validated, and are predictive, leading-indicators of brand profitability.
The good news is that brand loyalty is understandable. The better news is it can be quantified and predicted, and is very useful for creating actionable strategies and sequencing tactics for real ROI. Knowing what's coming down the road gives a brand an extraordinarily powerful advantage.
For a the complete list of the 2011 Brand Keys Top-100 Loyalty Leaders rankings we invite you to visit http://www.brandkeys.com/awards/leaders.cfm