4 Ways to restore brand loyalty amid COVID-19 pandemic

Just like many other aspects of our lives, the Coronavirus pandemic has also left an impact on the brand-consumer relationship. With the scores of retail stores closed amid the lockdown, online shopping has become the norm. So with the rapidly changing consumer behaviour trends, the sellers need to pay attention to the new shopper dynamic, which means dialling up the right factors in the digital domain.

The coronavirus pandemic has increased the number of competitors in the market with local and home-grown brands fighting in the race. As the leading marketing agency in Gurgaon, we have shared a few tips below to enable you shift customer engagement towards your brand while focusing on improving brand loyalty. Let’s dive in:

1. Customer loyalty is more fickle than ever:

   According to a research, almost 4 out of 10 customers now actively look for products with heavy discounts and offers more often. Some of them also buy cheaper products. This savings-oriented consumer mentality has left a profound impact on shopper loyalty.

   What should brands do: It has been noticed that one-third of the consumers purchase products from the credit cards due to the pandemic and are now looking for financial aid via promotions or discounts or rewards. Basically, consumers expect a lot from the brands amid a pandemic not only from a product availability point of view but also when it comes to supporting during the crisis.

   So, as the best digital marketing agency in Gurgaon, we recommend that the brands engage with their customers via social media platforms (such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and more) to announce – offers, discounts, big sales, or more, or even engage them via contests if need be to draw customer loyalty and attention.

2. Gaining brand loyalty goes beyond just adjusting the price:

   It was found by the market researchers that in July, clothes, in particular, were the first products people stopped buying besides travel tickets and flights. This resulted in a 20% decrease in the fashion sector between February 2020 to July 2020. Moreover, a handful of consumers have abandoned certain brands not only because of financial hardships, but because they have found a cheaper alternative, their requirements got finished due to limited social activities and also the introduction of the changes related to the return policy by some of the companies.

   What should brands do: Brands must reposition their offerings in order to win back recurring customers. Also, shopper loyalty will go to those with the capacity and the ability to supply the correct products at the right time.

   In such a scenario, the brands have the opportunity to re-look into their target audience and realign their marketing campaigns to save cost. Further, it will enable brands to take offline marketing strategies to online platforms/tools to effectively tap the audiences.

3. Physical attributes are still relevant to CPG shoppers, even when shopping online:

   On a closer look, need, presence and price are major factors in retaining customer loyalty at this juncture. But the fact that a larger share of total commerce is now online indicates that there is another challenge to address and that is how consumers make purchase decisions on these channels. If choosing one product over another once largely depended on physical attributes like packaging, size, and general look and feel, moving online means these factors become less influential – at least that’s the general assumption. In reality, physical attributes are still very relevant to shoppers – even online.

   What should brands do: A brand can possibly introduce a subscription business model in order to take its loyalty factor to the next level. For instance, Walmart in the USA and Tesco in the UK have both introduced a “Plus” subscription service with the latter reporting an almost £9 average increase per shop during the trial.

   Further, the customers now expect the brands to be more authentic and upfront about their offerings to enable customers to trust them. So, as the top digital agency, we recommend you to leverage your digital space to strategically market the product while sharing relevant product info to build brand loyalty.

4. Now is the time to up your interactive game:

   Another major challenge which brands are facing is the ability to communicate the value of their products effectively on social media platforms or on the digital domain. Augmented Reality (AR) has, so far, been slow on the uptake. But with the coming of 5G and reduction in in-store shopping due to the pandemic, AR shopping experiences have a unique window of opportunity to scale up. This sentiment is especially prominent among buyers of high-ticket items, like furniture and cars, where buyers are often deterred from making purchases online before seeing the product in person.

   If AR was a nice-to-have feature prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now resolving real pain points for buyers and businesses – and it is in demand from both the sides.

   What should brands do: The seller must always remember that their brands should not miss out on building that extra layer of interactivity in the shopper experience; not for the sake of it, but to provide real value for the customer. Hence, strategic integration of AR/VR in digital marketing processes of your brand will up your brand loyalty game and also, help improve sales in the long run.

Conclusion

These steps will help brands gain shopper loyalty, but it is the combination of all of the above-mentioned steps that will create an exceptional customer experience worth coming back to. In a nutshell, there is a dire need for the brands to think creatively and act accordingly in order to showcase the value of their products in the digital arena in a unique manner that separates them from the noise.

So, if you are looking for an integrated marketing communication agency to improve your brand loyalty amidst the on-going pandemic, you can get in touch with us at The Marcom Avenue. We are the best digital marketing company in Delhi NCR with a team of experts looking after year-on-year retainer clients, and helping them improve brand loyalty while reaching out to potential customers.

Get in touch today!