In today's fast-paced world, customers have a fleeting attention span and a penchant for switching brands with the blink of an eye. However, there are a few brands that have stood the test of time and loyal customers who will pretty much fall on their sword for the brand. I recently ran a highly in-depth poll…aka I asked my network through a LinkedIn post on which brands have extremely loyal customers. Below we will explore the top 5 brands from the comment who my network believes have extreme customer loyalty.
1. Netflix
With over 200 million subscribers worldwide, Netflix is a global entertainment powerhouse. What makes the brand stand out is its ability to personalize the viewing experience for each user based on their preferences and watch history. By doing so, Netflix has become the default entertainment option for millions of people across the globe.
2. Amazon
From books to groceries, Amazon has become the one-stop-shop for almost everything. The brand's easy user experience and quick delivery options have made it synonymous with convenience. Their company name has almost become a verb. When someone needs an item urgently, they’ll usually say, “I’ll Amazon it.” Similar to how people say they “summer” in the Hamptons.
3. Peloton
Peloton has quickly become a fitness status symbol. Peloton users have become a community, bonded by their shared love of the brand. Even though Peloton has had some PR nightmares, its audience has remained loyal because of the sense of connection that it provides. Peloton provides a personalized, high-quality workout experience that people are willing to pay top dollar for. This level of loyalty is not something that can be bought, it must be earned.
4. Apple
Apple has created a tech ecosystem that is hard to leave once you've joined. Apple products are so ingrained in people's personal and professional lives that it's hard to imagine switching to another tech brand. It could also be that it is such an incredibly heavy lift to get out of their ecosystem, that it’s not worth the effort to switch. Apple does have a unique user experience that spans across all of their devices. Once you get used to it, it’s very hard to adopt something new or go back to what you used before. As an Apple user myself, I had to use Microsoft for a few months and I could not get efficient with it.
5. JCPenney
JCPenney is where I buy all of my dungarees. Besides having a monopoly on my jeans purchase, JCPenney has managed to maintain a dedicated group of customers through its rewards program which they use to personalize for members. The brand engages with their customers regularly with Jebbit experiences to learn more about them.
JCPenney understands that transactional data is a moment in time. A customer might buy a purse and then not buy a purse again for years. They want to understand their members' lifestyle, shopping habits, affinity for trends, and other attributes that they ingest back into their CRM and Data Lake to build better audience segmentation and even lookalike audiences.
Conclusion:
These brands have built loyalty through customer engagement strategies and providing excellent experiences, personalized content, and an emotional connection. They've earned their trust and have created communities that keep people coming back for more. As marketers, we can learn from brands outside of our own industry and leverage their ideas with our own customer base. These brands have proven that customer loyalty is more than just a transaction, it's about building relationships that could last for years. Literally years. I still have and use an iPod.