Can you imagine a time when you’d marry the first person you dated—and stay married for over 50 years? What about taking the first job you were offered and committing to it for 40 years?
I hear brands saying they desire this: “fast loyalty.” But in today’s hypercompetitive market, businesses find themselves in perpetual pursuit of this unattainable fidelity, akin to chasing a mirage in the desert. And to further complicate things, brands’ actions are more often aligned with preference than with loyalty.
What’s the difference?
Preference, in essence, is a function of value, availability and access—a delicate balance between what consumers give up and what they receive, coupled with the brand’s inventory and reach. On the other hand, loyalty emerges from the fusion of preference with trust and authenticity—an alignment of core values that fosters commitment and allegiance.
There is a distinction to make between short-term and long-term preferences as well. Long-term preference refers to sustained favorability toward a brand; it reflects consumers’ consistent brand choices, often built on factors such as quality, reliability and positive previous experiences. Short-term brand preference refers to consumers’ immediate choices based on situational factors like proximity or occasion.
A tale of two businesses
The conflation of preference and loyalty is one of the fundamental misunderstandings of modern marketing—so let’s set the record straight, looking at two businesses both claiming to seek loyalty.
Business One expresses values and supports causes that are in line with its target customer. It listens to feedback and tailors its product offering to meet evolving needs. It launches a rewards program with a unique value exchange, even offering rewards not tied to its corporate benefit. It shows up in small ways at local spaces to demonstrate its shared identity with consumers.
Business Two promotes value-based transactional exchanges. It applies discounting, product promotions, limited-time offers and other shorter-term incentives to drive immediate purchases to generate sales. It shows up in large spaces to talk about itself and propel its agenda forward.
Both approaches increase top-line sales, but the latter is incorrectly associated with loyalty objectives and KPIs. Business Two’s tactics build long-term preference if they are lucky but not loyalty. It has limited engagement with consumers beyond the point of purchase and therefore lacks personalization and deeper relevance; it is less aware of who its core consumers are, why they shop there or what might bring them back tomorrow.
