There are Holy Grails and then there are Holy Grails and in the world of advertising, marketing and branding, there is no more important Holy Grail than brand loyalty. Any brand the world over is insanely dependent on the loyalty of their customers.

Brand loyalty is akin to an oath; a trust between a given brand and a consumer that said brand will treat said loyalty as if it were gold and guard and protect it accordingly.

Investopedia defines brand loyalty as “the positive association consumers attach to a particular product or brand” adding “loyal customers are the ones who will purchase the same brand regardless of convenience or price.”

So how loyal are consumers to brands?

According to a study done in 2019:

• 61% of consumers are loyal to up to five brands
• 26% are loyal to between six and 10 brands
• 78% base their loyalty on a given product
• 63% base their loyalty on a given price
• 26% base their loyalty on customer service
• And 22% base their loyalty on a brand’s loyalty program

That Was In Fact, Then… 

Who says a lot can’t happen in two years? Well, under normal circumstances, not a lot can change in a mere two years. But of course, these are anything but normal times we are living in. A global pandemic has a way of altering a few things and one of the things it has altered/greatly impacted are supply chains.

According to a recent study from Oracle, consumers are extremely aware of and concerned by the effects on supply chains:

• 82% are concerned that ongoing supply chain disruptions will ruin their life plans, such as birthdays, holidays, trips, and purchasing necessary items like school supplies
• 92% believe there will be more supply chain disruptions in the future
• And 66% are scared that these issues will never end

While these numbers are troubling, they pale in comparison to the one specific finding from the study. A finding that should have every brand in every corner of the world nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

80% of consumers say delays and shortages could cause them to cut ties with favorite brands

Now I know you may be thinking the word could softens the blow, right? And yes, I can see why you would think that. You could also be thinking ‘This is temporary. Once we get back to normal, everything will be fine and our loyal customers will return.’

The problem with that logic is there is no such as thing as normal anymore. In other words, who is to say how long your particular supply chain issues last? Can you predict, with any certainty, when your supply chain will even approach some sense of how it was prior to Covid?

If you can predict that, I want to get your thoughts on some lottery numbers ASAP.

Brands need to be focused on doing anything and everything they can to limit loss of brand loyalty. So that means they need to be focused squarely on solving any and all supply chain issues they currently have while staying in constant communication with its customers and I don’t mean just trying to sell something you DO have in stock.

Yes by all means if there is a suitable replacement by all means alert them to that. But do not, under any circumstances try and sell them something just for the sake of selling them something. It better be contextually relevant for if it’s not, then you will definitely lose them for good, no matter when you fix your supply chain issues.