It’s no secret that in recent years, brand loyalty has started a nose-dive. The evolution of the Internet has effectively tipped the power in favor of the consumers. And with a bastion of options readily available to online shoppers, consumers are now letting go of loyalty in favor of cheaper prices found elsewhere. But the success of all ecommerce outlets is dependent on customer retention and loyalty.
So, how can you combat this decline in loyalty? It starts with making sure your company’s brand strategy is doing its job. This means taking a look at the changing needs and wants of your consumers and considering an effective rebrand for your company. But before launching into a full-blown rebrand scheme, there are some important factors that need to be considered.
Understand Why You Are Rebranding
Before mapping out your entire rebrand strategy, you first need to establish the purpose of the rebrand. Why does your company need to rebrand itself now? If the reason is to refresh your look and feel, this can be taken care of relatively easy thank to ecommerce theme customization from Shopify. If the answer is simply that your company is no longer converting customers into loyalists; ergo, it’s not growing at the rate you’d like it to—that’s fine. But you need to dig a little deeper in order to figure out the root cause of your rebranding strategy.
So, why don’t you have a solid base of loyal customers? For most companies, a lack of loyalty means that your brand is no longer evolving with the marketplace. Your brand’s message is no longer connecting with your customers. Hence, it’s most likely time to revamp your message.
Determine How Cultural Changes Mirror Customer Loyalty
Developing a clear message is paramount to establishing your brand’s identity. This is your rebrand starting point and should be an important focal point of nearly all digital marketing strategies.
But in order to develop a successful message, you need to get inside of your consumers’ heads, a bit. Figure out what makes them tick. What do they want, and what are they looking for in a brand?
The consumer wants and needs morph right alongside cultural changes. Perhaps the decline in brand loyalty is symbolic of the fact that “being loyal” is no longer all that culturally relevant. In the past, loyalty was valued and ingrained in most, if not all, institutions. Climbing the corporate ladder and devoting your entire life to one company was a noble and highly sought-after position. But for new generations, it’s all about exploring your options. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Millennial with aspirations of finding a tenured-track profession because that’s simply less of a reality today.
For modern consumers, “new” is better than “known,” writes Forbes contributor Kathleen Kusek, and she’s right. So, to create a successful message in today’s market, a company needs to figure out how to blend exploratory elements of the “new” with traditional elements of authenticity.
Develop Your Messaging & Online Presence
The first place shoppers are going to go to search for a product is online. This means that you need to establish an online presence and identity for your brand via your website. This is the first touch-face for you to create brand loyalists.
In short, the best designs out there are the ones making good use modern platforms to carry out authentic brand messages. And that’s where your ecommerce rebranding strategy needs to start. Once you understand the purpose for your rebrand, focus your time and energy on developing the new message you want to convey to your consumers. From there, utilize modern design elements and platforms to communicate your message to your consumers.
Remember, in the digital age, it’s all about the use of visuals to communicate and connect. This means that your brand’s success depends on an effective and strong logo, website, and mobile designs, as well as the marketing strategies you use to communicate them.
The new generation of shoppers wants to feel connected, and they want brands they can trust. But it’s up to you to convert them.