123 eGuides

1 Minute Advice: What "Brand Loyalty" Really Means

Marketing Charts reports on Nielsen data that indicates more than half of U.S. shoppers believe they are exhibiting loyalty to a product if they have purchased it at least three times. But only 9 percent of U.S. consumers say they are loyal to brands or products they have always bought. Among U.S. consumers, 55 percent say they sometimes try new brands and products.

Why do consumers switch brands instead of remaining loyal? On a global scale, 38 percent of consumers will choose a new brand or product because of "value for money," while 32 percent say "price or promotion" causes them to switch. Other studies confirm that loyalty to a single brand has waned. A survey of U.S. consumers indicated that a whopping 86 percent said they are open to switching brands, with 72 percent saying that when they make a purchase, they consider 2 to 4 brands.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Have you heard about the book, Boomer Brands?

1 Minute Advice: Three Rules of Social Media Engagement

As a marketer, engaging with prospects and customers via social media is essential today. Creating true engagement, however, requires adherence to certain rules. Writing for Social Media Examiner, Luria Petrucci identifies three of the most vital rules for social media engagement:

1. Be consistent - "You must consistently create quality social media content for people to want to engage with you."
2. Ask specific questions - "Too often, marketers think they’re asking for engagement when, in fact, they’re not. If you’re not getting super-specific with your request for people to comment, chances are they won’t."
3. Include an element of fun - "What works today is personality. A sense of fun and your unique personality is what will drive engagement more than anything else because people don’t engage unless they enjoy the content or feel something about it. "

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Have you heard about the book, Boomer Brands?

1 Minute Advice: Brands Need to be Cautious with Consumer Data

As data privacy and data breaches continue to make news, it heightens consumer awareness of how personal data is being used. A recent survey of consumers by content management solutions provider Acquia reveals that 65 percent of respondents will abandon a brand that is dishonest about how a consumer's personal data is being used. Still, consumers are generally willing to share their data with brands: almost half (49 percent) will share personal data with brands that have a physical store, but 59 percent say they wait at least a month before doing so.

A more telling statistic from the survey is that 65 percent of consumers don't know how brands are using their personal data. Tom Wentworth, a senior VP at Acquia, tells MediaPost, “Brands have a responsibility to educate consumers about data usage, proving that they can trust the Internet again," indicating that we are at "the beginning of a new paradigm where businesses need to find personalized ways to engage consumers without going too far."

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Have you heard about the book, Boomer Brands?

1 Minute Advice: Eco-friendly Packaging on the Rise

In response to the groundswell of concern around plastics, large consumer companies are starting to think creatively about eco-friendly packaging. Two encouraging examples:

1. Nestle has come up with a special recyclable polymer-coated paper that can be used in high-speed packaging production but degrades within six months in the ocean. Even more impressive is the fact that the company is making the technology available to food manufacturers rather than patenting it.
2. PepsiCo is using a 100% recycled product for one of its water brands and will introduce aluminum can packaging for its Aquafina brand to eventually replace plastic bottles.

In addition to these examples, an industry movement is underway in a pilot program that tests the concept of multi-use containers being reused and returned by the consumer. Sounds like the good ol' days of glass milk bottles, doesn't it? Everything old is new again!

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Have you heard about the book, Boomer Brands?