Loyalty That Lasts

Marketers today are rethinking and reevaluating the foundational requirements of a profitable, sustainable and lasting dynamic between brand and customer. They are looking for a relationship where customers have a deep, emotional connection to the brand that transcends the old measures of brand recognition and affinity. We want customers to love us… to have that emotional connection. Marketers today are looking for something deeper… something that lasts beyond an open or a click. Marketers want what Cheetah Digital calls “Emotional Loyalty.”

The CMO Council, in partnership with Cheetah Digital, explored the foundations upon which the next evolution of customer engagement strategy must be built as CMOs look to redefine how affinity, advocacy and customer trust will be secured, fostered and protected throughout the customer’s journey.

In this CMO Council study, Marketing leaders admitted an astounding truth: In the race to perfect campaign deployment and accelerated technology adoption, a critical element of engagement had been left behind: the person on the receiving end of the brand experiences. This realization that customer engagement strategies have left the customer out of the picture has driven many marketers to rethink and reevaluate the foundational requirements of a profitable, sustainable and lasting dynamic between brand and customer. They are looking for a relationship where customers have a deep, emotional connection to the brand that transcends the old measures of brand recognition and affinity. We want customers to love us… to have that emotional connection. Marketers today are looking for something deeper… something that lasts beyond an open or a click. Marketers want what Cheetah Digital calls “Emotional Loyalty.”

The question that loomed is a simple yet critical one: Are marketers ready to evolve customer engagement strategies to better leverage brand experiences to activate emotional loyalty?

The CMO Council, in partnership with Cheetah Digital, explored the foundations upon which the next evolution of customer engagement strategy must be built as CMOs look to redefine how affinity, advocacy and customer trust will be secured, fostered and protected throughout the customer’s journey.

Critical questions asked include:

• What traits and attributes define the customer’s mindset and connection with the brand?
• How are organizations defining loyalty? Is it a fleeting program or a holistic strategy? Is a “loyalty strategy” just a scheme of recurring sales, points and promotions, or is it a relationship that is constantly fed and nurtured?
• How does loyalty transcend campaigns and tactics and become the focus of the customer experience strategy of tomorrow?
• How does the C-Suite value loyalty as a key attribute of the customer experience?
• How do CMOs rate their customer engagement competency and the customer loyalty literacy?
• How aligned are engagement strategies with overarching customer experience strategies? And are both purpose-built to identify and optimize emotional loyalty?
• What are the data, intelligence and digital requirements to empower a loyalty and advocacy agenda?

This peer-powered thought leadership initiative established an “Emotional Loyalty IQ,” gauging how ready CMOs are to establish the three pillars of emotional loyalty – Trust, Affinity and Attachment – with each customer. This assessment assists CMOs in understanding where and how loyalty is bolstered and where opportunity exists to break through the roadblocks that could be holding back real advancement of experience strategies. The program will also aggregate best practices from organizations well on their way to capitalizing on loyalty and driving customer experience strategies forward by stepping beyond the first incarnation of customer engagement management and instead looking towards Customer Loyalty Enhancement.