How to Build Authentic Customer Loyalty

Is your brand fostering real customer loyalty or just making it hard for people to leave? Read 9 strategies to build trust and foster lasting customer relationships.

Not all customer loyalty is authentic

Year after year, Apple tops the lists of companies with the greatest customer loyalty. Many brands admire Apple’s customer loyalty playbook and try to emulate it. 

But beware — not all loyalty is created equal. 

Artificial loyalty

Have you ever stayed with a company just because switching felt like too much work? That’s artificial loyalty.

Some people stick with a brand because it's convenient, or because switching is a hassle — not because they actually love the brand. 

Related: Why do customers switch from one product or service to another? Learn about the four forces that drive consumer decision-making.

Two factors significantly help Apple retain customers:

• Its products work best when used together: iPhones don’t offer the most innovative features on the market, but they pair well with the MacBook and AirPods that their customers already own.
• People are resistant to learning a new interface: Customers are familiar with the iPhone’s user interface and may not want to learn a new system.

The problem with artificial loyalty

Companies that rely on artificial loyalty often face significant churn when issues come up. Once a better option comes along, their customers will leave without hesitation.

Sonos is like Apple — their speakers work best when used within their own ecosystem, which creates a “forced” sense of customer loyalty. So when the company released an app with a poor interface, many customers abandoned the brand. 

Why? Their loyalty was conditional, not emotional.

Authentic loyalty

Authentic loyalty is built on trust, positive experiences, and a brand’s ability to consistently deliver on its promises. It comes from a genuine connection between the brand and the consumer, rather than the pull of sticking with the status quo. 

Brands that exemplify a more authentic customer loyalty include:

• Dunkin’ Donuts: Dunkin’ understands its brand identity and customer base. By evolving its app and loyalty program to align with its customers’ expectations, it has remained a leader among coffee brands in customer loyalty. The customer service element doesn’t have to be perfect — America (especially the east coast) still runs on Dunkin’.
• American Express: American Express fosters loyalty through exceptional customer service and perks that people can’t get anywhere else, ensuring that customers feel appreciated and supported.

Loyal customers don’t stick around because they’re stuck. They stay because they believe in the brand.

Building authentic loyalty requires brands to focus on what truly matters to their customers. Let’s unpack the elements that build and retain customer loyalty. 

Disclaimer: Customer loyalty drivers are not universal

While there are common strategies to foster loyalty, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. A hospital and a SaaS company don’t win loyalty the same way.

To drive authentic customer loyalty, brands must understand their: 

• Audience
• Consumers’ needs
• Market (including local)
• Competitive landscape

9 customer loyalty building strategies

To increase customer loyalty and retention, focus on strategies that foster trust and positive experiences.

Remember, the best customer loyalty drivers depend on your unique audience and market. But these approaches offer a solid place to start:

1. Authenticity: Ensure your messaging aligns with the actual customer experience. Deliver what you promise.
2. Leading with empathy: Understand customer emotions throughout their journey with your brand. Design better experiences by diagnosing friction points, resolving the problems, and amplifying the positive moments.
3. Co-creation: Make your human-centered design efforts public so your customers understand that your brand values them. Involve customers in the process of product and experience design through design thinking workshops.
4. Human-centric messaging: Marketing and customer loyalty go hand-in-hand. To create messaging that truly resonates, build marketing campaigns based on consumer research — not internal opinions or assumptions.
5. Good customer service: Provide consistent, high-quality service that reassures customers they’ve made the right choice. (Understand the relationship between customer service and customer experience.)
6. Effective customer loyalty programs: A loyalty program alone won’t necessarily improve customer loyalty. Purposefully design your program to meet the needs of people you serve, and maintain a trusting relationship with your audience. 
7. Soliciting feedback: Regularly gather insights from consumers to understand their evolving expectations and needs. (How? We recommend journey mapping workshops and in-depth interviews over focus groups.)
8. Acting on feedback: Don’t just ask customers what they want — act on it. Show customers that their voices matter by using their input to drive improvements.
9. Commitment to continual improvement: Loyalty isn’t static — this is especially true for certain industries in a turbulent, post-pandemic market. Consistently evolve to meet changing consumer expectations.

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How to increase customer loyalty in today’s climate 

Loyalty drivers have significantly shifted in the past five years. Events like the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and economic uncertainties have impacted how consumers make purchasing decisions.

We can no longer rely on past loyalty drivers to retain customers long-term and remain competitive. Brands need to continually reassess what matters to customers today.

Here’s how:

• Perform ongoing customer research. (We recommend a mix of qualitative and quantitative.)
• Actively engage with customers to understand how loyalty behaviors have evolved. Don’t settle for customer satisfaction surveys — bring consumers in for interviews and collaborative design workshops.

Partner with customer loyalty consultants 

At Cast & Hue, we help organizations improve customer loyalty through human-centered design strategies, including: 

• Journey mapping
• Jobs-to-be-Done research
• Design thinking
• Experience design 

Ready to better understand your customers or patients, and create experiences that drive authentic loyalty? Reach out to get started.