Nine for '09: Loyalty & Engagement Trends

5. How green is my brand?

Simply playing in the environmental awareness arena will not be an option in 2009, and brands will have to find ways of positioning their offerings in ways that meaningfully support a sustainable future. But as the number of companies trying to co-opt the environmental movement for their products and services grows, so too will the number of skeptical consumers. Most consumers have heard these promises before and will begin to demand evidence and authenticity. Measuring that authenticity and the degree to which the brand is perceived by the consumer to really be green will become more necessary than in the past. Possessing such measures will provide insights and strategic direction that will aid in brand differentiation, the creation of added value, increased consumer engagement, and, the ultimate bottom line, profitability.

6. Brands will need to identify – and leverage – new values.

Happily, loyalty and engagement metrics identify trends and values that will be more important to consumers many months before they are blips on traditional research radar screens. Looking at the 60 categories and nearly 500 brands we measure in our Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, we found, for example, that the average percent-of-contribution that "customization" makes to product and service engagement, adoption, and loyalty is currently 18%. That's nearly 5 times what the value was when it was first measured it in 1997. Watch for "customization"—the newest of the loyalty values to insert itself into virtually every product and service category—to be something marketers will be paying great attention.

7. Behavior will finally beat attitude.

More marketers will come to realize that "to know you" is not necessarily "to buy you" (or, for that matter, even to like you). Brands will need to recognize—and address—real behavioral metrics. Corporations will use the identification of behavioral consumer segments to synergistically reinforce brand values, brand and corporate positioning efforts, communications, and media planning to make the marketing function much more effective and efficient.

8. Consumer expectations will continue to grow.

Brands are barely keeping up with consumer expectations now. Every day consumers adopt and devour the latest technologies and innovations, and only hunger for more. In 2009, expect smarter marketers to identify and capitalize on unmet expectations via newly identified values (like customization), using more and more high-tech systems. This approach will help them differentiate brands from competitors, and brand-consonant touch points (like mobile marketing) will play a major role in meeting and managing consumer expectations.

9. Make life simple for your brand and your customer.

The poet-marketer H. D. Thoreau foretold the coming of 2009's ninth and final trend: "Simplify. Simplify." Consumers are searching for, demanding, in fact, simplification. In some categories this is showing up strong, such as cell-phone plans, search engines, and laundry detergent. Who has not looked at switching cellular carriers and bemoaned the task of comparing one complicated plan to another? Simplification is also showing up as a driver in online travel sites for itinerary planning. Yet as the competition has heated up brands still continue to compete on price, and not what will engender positive consumer behavior – simplification.

The future may not be what it used to be, but brands can be pretty sure that it will pose a more difficult time for marketers. But marketers and planners that have loyalty metrics in place will have a handle on the trends that are bound to show up in their offices. And doing that will make them both prophets and profits in 2009.

Robert Passikoff, Ph.D, is founder and president of Brand Keys Inc.