How to keep your consumer loyal

If you are a marketer in internet services, finance, mobile or retail, chances are local consumers have the highest levels of loyalty for your brand.The Nielsen Global Survey of Loyalty Sentiment study that was recently done indicates that these are the top five categories where Singaporean respondents showed the highest level of brand loyalty.81% said they would be loyal to their internet service provider, 77% to their financial institutions, 76% to their mobile phone brand, 75% to their mobile service provider and 74% to their supermarket or modern retail trade store retailer.Meanwhile, the results do not favour alcoholic brands the same way. Alcoholic beverages were ranked by consumers as the category they were least loyal to. Around 52% of those surveyed said they are not loyal to an alcohol brand and that they would likely switch brands.The study also showed that Singaporean shoppers are big on loyalty programmes as 91% of local consumers said that they were more likely to shop at retailers that offered loyalty programs. The most effective loyalty tacticsWhile Singaporeans indicated that they liked discounts and free products best, exclusive deals for products or events was ranked as the second most valuable perk. Free shipping came in third.Discounted or free products offerings were also the most valuable loyalty programme benefits across other Southeast Asian markets.Also, besides Vietnam and Singapore, enhanced customer service was ranked as the second most valuable programme benefit in the other Southeast Asia markets. Shoppers in Vietnam and Singapore ranked exclusive deals as second.“Retail loyalty programmes have grown significantly in Southeast Asia in recent years, both in terms of availability and popularity, and these programmes are now playing a strong role in influencing consumers’ choice of store, with consumers in Southeast Asia more likely than most other regions globally to be enticed by loyalty programme offerings,” Pete Gale, managing director of retailer services in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Greater China said.He added that for retailers, loyalty programmes provide powerful insights that enable them to tailor their offers to individual customer needs, “thereby increasing the frequency of visits to their stores as well as the amount spent.”“In the coming years we can expect to see the sophistication of loyalty programs across the region improve as marketers develop new and innovative ways to identify and deliver the program benefits that are of most importance to their customers.”The Nielsen Global Survey of Loyalty Sentiment polled more than 29,000 Internet respondents in 58 countries to evaluate consumer views on loyalty levels across 16 categories including fast-moving consumer goods, technology products and retail establishments. It covered six Southeast Asia markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.