• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 9, 2022

Here is some bad news for brands that wish they were adored by their customers: They don’t love you. 

On the contrary, 65% of consumers love fewer than three brands. And 9% don’t love a single one, according to a study released Wednesday by Redpoint Global, conducted by Dynata.

But love is a vague term — what does it mean? This study offers a few hints that email teams in particular should take note of.

For one, 49% of consumers will consider buying from a brand that does personalization well. And 37% prefer firms that communicate with them through the channels they like. 

Moreover, 40% say quality goods and services are the best way to win their love, and 17% cherish a positive experience across all channels. In addition, 64% would rather purchase a product from a brand that knows them, and 34% would spend more money if that was happening. 

What's more, 32% will  overlook a single bad experience if they feel the company is trying to understand them as a customer.

Another 52% value recommendations, and 44% want ease of navigation in-store and online. And 41% feel understood through the frequency of interactions — that is, sharing relevant information in a timely manner, but not too often, the study says. 

Meanwhile, 19% say post-purchase communications are a sign of understanding. Only 12% list onboarding with the first purchase. But 26% say brands show it when celebrating birthdays and other milestones.  

Boomers like discounts and loyalty points, while younger generations say values alignment is the biggest driver of brand loyalty. 

“Chasing discounts for goods and services is ultimately a race to the bottom in terms of costs,” states John Nash, chief marketing and strategy officer at Redpoint Global. “The organizations that will thrive are finding ways to increase customer loyalty through delivery of timely, relevant and highly personalized information.”

Drilling down, consumers agree with these sentiments regarding personalization:

• I feel understood by a brand when they personalize their communications to me — 27%
• I feel valued by a brand when they personalize their communications to me — 33%
• I think it is a little creepy when a brand personalizes their communications to me — 20%
• It doesn’t make a difference to me if a brand personalizes their communications to me or not — 20%

Here are their feelings about privacy:

• I feel disrespected when brands are not transparent about how they will use my personal data — 42%
• I feel disrespected when brands collect my personal data and don’t clearly give me the opportunity to opt in or opt out — 47%
• I do not want brands to have access to my personal data — 34%
• I am fine with brands having access to my personal data if they are transparent about the use and try to provide more value to me in exchange — 35%
• I am fine with brands having access to my personal data and don’t care to understand how they are using it — 7%

What engenders loyalty to a brand? The respondents say:

• I am more loyal to a brand that offers multiple ways to interact with them and shop, such as the option to buy online and pickup in store — 34%
• I like the option to interact and shop in multiple ways, such as buying online and picking up in-store, but I am not more loyal to brands that offer that — 31%
• I prefer to interact and shop with a brand in one way—either online or in-store, but not both—and am more loyal to brands that understand that — 11%
• The method I use to interact with a brand does not impact my loyalty to the brand — 25%

Dynata surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers in January 2022.