In our first blog post on cult brands we shared that just a five percent increase in brand loyalty can double a brand’s profitability. It’s because brand loyalists will buy the brand for a lifetime without the need for continued heavy advertising.

There are characteristics of cult brands that need cultivating. First, cult brand leaders are fanatics about knowing everything they can about their customers. This requires some form of research to understand what motivates the customer to buy the product and their possible affinities to the brand. This can be done through online consumer panels for an attitude and awareness study and through focus groups to acquire qualitative data. Senior leadership must engage with brand loyalists to truly understand why loyalists are drawn to their brand.

The process will uncover key demographics and attitudes that enable you to segment your customers. Is there a segment of heavy users of products within your category? Why do they purchase so frequently? Does the purchase stir their emotions or make them feel better or smarter? Similarly, what percentage of consumers view their purchases of your brand as a price-driven commodity? These aren’t loyalists so separate the wheat from the chaff and focus on those who are predisposed to be a brand loyalist for life.

Your research will uncover those traits. Monitoring your social channels will further identify those who engage with your posts more frequently and participate with comments of their own.

For one of Creative Energy’s cult brand clients, research identified a segment within their category that had grown weary of trying multiple brands and was ready to return to their original favorite. It was a gold mine for understanding a group of loyalists who would evangelize the brand to others.

In the next post in our series, we will explore how the right message will rally brand loyalists. If you would like to discuss your own brand, give us a call or send us an email.