Brand Loyalty: What It Is and Why It Matters
Have you ever gone to the supermarket and chosen a specific soft drink or cereal—even though other brands were cheaper?
That’s brand loyalty in action!
By showing customers that your brand is trustworthy, committed to customer care, and aligned with their values, you can reap major benefits.
82% of shoppers want to buy from brands whose values match their own, and 34% are willing to pay up to 25% more to do so.
In this post, I’ll explain what brand loyalty is, how to measure it, and how to build brand loyalty into your digital marketing strategy.
Key Takeaways
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Brand loyalty means customers consistently choose your product or service regardless of price or competition. By strengthening brand loyalty, you ensure customers keep buying from you and recommending you to others.
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Any business can create a strong, thoughtful approach to building brand loyalty—regardless of size or industry.
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Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is one of the most effective metrics for measuring brand loyalty. If CLV drops, it may be a sign that something is harming loyalty.
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It’s essential to know your target audience and understand what they value most. Then you can create content that attracts them and shows you’re an authentic, trustworthy choice.
What Is Brand Loyalty and Why Is It Important?
Brand loyalty is when customers consistently choose a specific brand—even when competitors are more affordable or offer additional benefits.
For example, imagine you always prefer Coca-Cola over Pepsi. You might choose Coca-Cola because you like its taste, enjoy its TV ads, or because it reminds you of good times with friends.
All of these factors contribute to brand loyalty.
The biggest benefit of brand loyalty for businesses is more sales over a longer period of time. It also means customers are less likely to be influenced by your competitors’ marketing—and they may even encourage others to try your brand.
Brand loyalty means you always have a group of “super fans” who will keep buying even if you raise prices or change your marketing approach.
Transparency and trust are at the heart of brand loyalty. Nicole Wiza, Head of Content Production at NP Digital, says:
“Brand loyalty comes from an emotional connection to your brand. Implementing personalized content strategies and communicating with your customers across different channels can help build deeper bonds and encourage repeat interactions.”
Brand Loyalty vs. Customer Loyalty
Some people use “brand loyalty” and “customer loyalty” interchangeably, but they’re slightly different.
Customer loyalty focuses on encouraging repeat purchases—for example, through loyalty programs or highlighting the benefits of your products.
Brand loyalty is about creating a strong emotional bond with customers and encouraging them to identify with your values and purpose.
You can use both to motivate customers to buy and promote your company.
Take Apple as an example: it offers a wide range of products that work together to deliver a seamless experience. But it also has a strong brand identity with design and innovation at the center. As a result, people are willing to pay more for Apple products and encourage others to use them.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Why It Matters
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) measures how much a customer spends during their relationship with your business.
You can calculate CLV by multiplying:
Average Order Value (AOV) × Purchase Frequency × Average Customer Lifespan
CLV is one of the most important metrics for measuring brand loyalty. A high number indicates you’re building successful relationships and delivering value.
A low number suggests you’re making mistakes that push customers away—such as ignoring feedback or offering an inconsistent experience across marketing channels.
You can also break CLV down by digital marketing channel to identify which channels are most effective at retaining customers.
How to Build Brand Loyalty Using Digital Marketing
One of the most effective ways to build brand loyalty is through digital marketing.
You have access to a wide range of data you can use to understand your target customers. You can also use different types of content to engage customers—whether they’re on social media or subscribed to your email list.
Here’s how to build brand loyalty into your digital marketing strategy:
1) Understand Your Audience’s Needs
Brand loyalty starts with understanding your target audience—meaning the people you want to buy your products or services.
It’s important to know which values matter most to your audience so you can reflect those values in your marketing.
For example, if sustainability is important to your customers, you can highlight what you’re doing to make the world greener.
Some of Coca-Cola’s most important values (and therefore values important to its audience) are quality, passion, and integrity. These values provide clear direction for the marketing messages that should be prioritized.
2) Create Effective, Actionable Content
Content marketing helps you communicate your values and connect with your customers. When creating content that supports brand loyalty, prioritize your audience’s needs over sales messaging.
Your content should be:
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Consistent: create a publishing rhythm so customers look forward to the next piece.
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Well-researched: understand what your audience wants and publish it on the platforms they use most.
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High-quality: take the time to make content informative, educational, and entertaining.
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Relevant: address your audience’s needs and pain points.
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Engaging: use storytelling to connect emotionally.
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Trustworthy: use the E-E-A-T framework to show why you’re the right choice.
Don’t forget: customers can be a rich source of content. Wiza says:
“Incorporating customer stories or user-generated content (UGC) into your content strategy shows authenticity and strengthens a sense of community around your brand.”
3) Define Your Brand Voice and Story
Beyond deciding what content you create, you also need to decide your brand voice.
What personality will you show customers? Will you be fun and playful—or professional and authoritative?
Your brand voice should be consistent across channels. This makes customers feel comfortable, helps them recognize you in a crowded market, and most importantly, gives them a reason to trust you.
Let your values guide your voice—if your core goal is to make the world kinder and happier, reflect that in how you communicate.
4) Use Social Proof and Social Media for Insights
Social proof such as testimonials, reviews, and UGC can build trust and encourage more customers to buy.
Customer satisfaction is the main driver of repeat business, and reviews help you identify customers most likely to become loyal brand advocates.
One easy way to gather social proof is through social media. By encouraging customers to post, tag your brand, and use your hashtags, you can collect valuable proof.
Social media is also a great way to understand what customers (and potential customers) are saying about your brand. Social listening tools like Mention and Hootsuite help you monitor mentions, collect feedback, and respond—even if people don’t tag you directly.
5) Personalization
Personalizing your digital marketing can strengthen customer trust and encourage repeat purchases.
According to Deloitte, 71% of marketers who use personalization report improved customer loyalty, and 67% report increased repeat purchases.
Email marketing is one of the easiest ways to apply personalization. You can target specific customer groups through customized email campaigns and segment audiences based on interests or behavior.
For example, identify your most frequent buyers and send them exclusive content—such as early access to new product launches and invitations to VIP events.
6) Influencers and Thought Leadership
More than 70% of customers buy more from brands they trust. But here’s the problem: only 30% of customers say they have “high trust” in companies.
You can increase trust and build brand loyalty by positioning yourself as a trusted source of knowledge in your industry. One way I build thought leadership in digital marketing is by guest posting on sites like Forbes and Adweek. I also frequently host free workshops and webinars to share experience and train other marketers.
Another way to build trust is strategic partnerships with influencers your customers already trust. According to Sprout Social, 53% of customers follow influencers who align with their values. Collaborating with influencers can put your brand values front and center, expand loyalty, and reach new potential customers.