The influence of purpose-driven marketing on brand loyalty

Customers typically tend to be people, and people are quite hard to understand. Therefore, it takes quite a bit of thought, research, time and other resources to create and implement strategies that would ensure positive outcomes from them. Like for example, what factors come into play when a customer decides to purchase a product? What other factors come into the picture when and if they repurchase it??

We are talking about brand loyalty here.? Brand loyalty is largely influenced by consumer psychology - a complex set of psychological, cognitive and? behavioural processes that determine how potential customers see your brand and react to it. You can find out more about it here.

There are multiple methods and techniques to ensure brand loyalty such as engaging with your customers, understanding their needs and wants, maintaining brand consistency, investing in design, among numerous others.?

However, something new has been brought to the table recently - purpose-driven marketing.

Let us understand what this concept is. It is a marketing technique in which a company’s values, mission and actions are matched or aligned with those of the consumers. It comes from the thought? or belief that your brand’s purpose should guide your marketing efforts. More often than not, this purpose tends to be social in nature.

Without saying, this simply means that just selling your product is no longer sufficient. Along with the product, you also need to offer and value people’s lives. Everyone who is involved in this transaction needs to derive some or the other benefit from it.

This shows that you care about society and social welfare and not just about earning profits. It also demonstrates to the public that you consider yourself part of the social unit.?

Let’s illustrate this with an example. Between August 1 and October 16 in 2018, Accenture conducted a global survey with 30,000 end consumers from 35 countries. Over 60% of respondents said (apart from the price and quality), what attracted them to the brand was their consistency, transparency, fairness in the workplace, sustainable practices, authenticity and passion. About 50% said that they were drawn by the brand’s stance on societal and cultural issues that they also believed in, support to the causes that they had in common and also due to the alignment in the values of the brand with those of the consumers.?

Purpose-driven marketing strongly influences the emotions of the consumer, creating a trust beyond the product, service, quality or price.?

This creates a powerful brand-consumer bond in which the latter feels included, creating a collective space for engagement. This allows the consumer to function as a part of the brand itself, making them advocates rather than just someone whose function ends with purchase of your product and/or service.?

Purpose-driven marketing is a powerful way to create a community of consumers who identify with your beliefs and goals, and who also help you move forward. Vice-versa, you become an effective member of society around you. This bond of mutual benefit is for sure a relationship that will not fail.?