How to build brand loyalty with the right app and website

Building brand loyalty with the right app or online store can be a powerful tool for businesses to engage and retain customers. Here are our tips on building your all-essential brand loyalty.

Provide convenience

Make sure you create an app or website that is easy to use and convenient for customers. The main aim of digital shopping and services is convenience – which is an unnecessary amount of steps to complete the checkout process and is a leading factor in increased drop-off rates. Features like 1-click checkouts, saved payment methods, subscription offerings and the ability to track orders in real-time provide real customer convenience, which in turn generates repeat business and loyalty. A resounding 94% of shoppers selected keywords such as ‘convenience’ and ‘ease of use’ as their main reasons for continuing to shop with a brand.

60% of global customers expect same or next-day delivery from brands. Consumer buying habits are trending towards hassle-free shopping, which is closely linked to trust and simplicity. Customers are also more likely to share more of their data and personal details with you when you value their time and provide a quick, simple and enjoyable experience.

Personalise the experience

Data, data, data.

Utilising the customer data you have the opportunity to collect via your app or website, almost guarantees improved results.

According to Google 89% of marketers reported that personalisation on their websites or apps resulted in an increase in revenue. Your customers want to feel special– who doesn’t? They want to feel like you’re catering to their personal needs and tailoring your offerings to them as an individual, not the masses.

You can use data to recommend products or services based on past behaviour, for example, a person who placed a previous food order of sushi for two will probably be interested in a Japanese sushi taste experience bundle! 63% of smartphone users are more likely to re-purchase from companies whose apps offer them relevant recommendations. These similar suggestions not only encourage repeat purchases but, used long-term, can build a level of trust and loyalty with your audience.

Similarly, you can use data to create personalised notifications and promotions. The opportunities are endless. Once you can access and learn from your customer's shopping habits and preferences via data, you can create a plethora of unique offers.

Making sure that your app provides value to your customers has multiple benefits - not only do you encourage your customers to keep coming back, but you’ll start to become the online offering that customers recommend to their friends and family.

Offer customer support - quickly and easily

Hold music and dial tones are not fun. There we said it.

We all associate long-wait times with unpleasant experiences of trying to contact a customer service representative and feeling frustrated and ignored.

Good customer support is the pinnacle of brand loyalty. If you can provide easily accessible support to your customers – they will return to you. 83% of consumers cite good customer service as the most important factor when deciding what brands/stores to buy from.

Providing excellent customer support can be as easy as including live chat on your website or in-app messaging. Allowing a customer to instantly interact with a representative or even an AI chatbot directly from your app or website, helps them to feel valued and gets issues resolved quickly.

A customer who has to chase for support via multiple channels like email, phone calls and Twitter, to be able to return an item, and then wait for a response, is much less likely to feel respected or heard than a customer who simply has to click a chat icon from the online space they are already in (your app or website). So it’s clear as to why 77% of consumers think good customer service is critical to earning brand loyalty and generating repeat business.

Create a community

76% of internet users are participants in online communities. #CuteCats or even #WhatIWoreToday are examples of online communities, brought together through a simple social media hashtag.

It is really easy for any brand or business to easily tap into this human craving for unity. By Encouraging customers to engage with each other and create that sense of community around your brand, you build instant advocacy and get free content in the process. There’s no better marketing than free customer reviews and user-generated content (UGC)!

Community building also could also include features like customer competitions, reviews and social sharing.

“58% of online community managers believe there is an improvement in brand loyalty as a result of customers being part of their community! “

TikTok led the way as a driving force for products going viral via trending social reviews. The tag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt had over 4.1 billion views. From micro-fashion trends to food recipes (feta pasta anyone?), these types of trends encouraged 71% of viewers to unexpectedly purchase the featured items.

We’re not saying everyone has to go viral on social media. But by simply having social features on your app or website, or creating an easy/fun brand hashtag to include on social media channels for product reviews, your customers can connect with other shoppers and build their own circle. The best part? You’ll be in the middle of this tribe.

To wrap up

The above tips are a quick overview of just some of the ways businesses can build brand loyalty with the right app and website, keeping customers engaged and coming back for more.

To find out more about how you can create an app or website that boosts brand loyalty– check out our Studio Store product which can help you start selling online in just two weeks, or visit our Builder Studio for a custom-made app that can be uniquely designed for your specific needs.