As consumers in the digital age become more selective about their purchases, brand loyalty seems to be an elusive end goal achieved by only a few top performing brands. While this may be hard to hear, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Today, people have a variety of choices and easy access to information at all times, therefore, they are able to pick and choose how to spend their money and on which brands.

So, how do you make your brand stand out? One solution is to create a seamless brand experience for your customers. In fact, one of the American Marketing Association’s “Top 5 Shopper Marketing Trends for 2016” explains the importance of creating a seamless shopping experience.

Customers should be able to interact with your brand in a variety of channels and experience a consistent, positive interaction in each setting. Marketing professionals refer to this as an ‘omni-channel’ marketing approach – ensuring customers receive the same brand messaging and overall experience, no matter how or when they are engaging with your brand.

Getting customers to choose your brand and then remain loyal isn’t an easy task, but here are a few ways that you can help ensure they experience your brand in the way it is meant to be experienced, no matter where they’re at.

1. Be the customer

Before you go making significant changes to your store, product or website, do your homework. Map out the journey that your customers go through from start to finish. Research your brand from a customer’s perspective – fill out website forms, contact customer service, return a product, etc. Really walk in their shoes and see what they see. Then, record what you find. Looking at your brand from your customer’s perspective, are there areas that turn you off from choosing your own brand?

2. Fix what you find

Now that you have witnessed firsthand the inconsistencies in your brand experience, fix them! This can mean something as small as making sure customers can return purchases they made online to a brick and mortar store. Ensure that there is price consistency as well as product consistency between your e-commerce and your brick and mortar stores through site audits. Customers should be able to have the same, or at least a very similar, experience with your brand no matter which channel they choose to interact with.

3. Collect and use customer analytics

Are customers shopping for your product online before buying in store, or vice versa? Are they shopping on mobile and then purchasing on desktop? Invest in a good analytics software and use this information to your advantage. Create personalized messages and targeted campaigns based on customer data and insights. Leverage technology such as Beacon Technology or geo-targeting to make sure you’re reaching the right customer at the right time.

4. Try a Brand Shop

Have you done everything in your power to create a seamless brand experience for your buyer, but still find retailers causing inconsistencies for your brand? If so, it’s time to take control. Brand Shops allow you to control the way your brand is merchandised, priced, and sold. Sound too good to be true? You can find out more about Brand Shops here.

Creating a truly seamless brand experience is something that takes time and focused effort. Once you have identified the steps you need to take, it’s not as daunting of a task as it may have seemed, and the rewards far outweigh any challenges that stand in the way. Your customers may not notice all your hard work in creating this unified experience for their benefit, but they will thank you unknowingly with increased purchases and loyalty. And we believe that’s a worthwhile investment.

Do you need help identifying inconsistencies in your retail branding experience? Are you interested in developing a Brand Shop? BDS is your trusted retail partner with over 30 years of experience telling brand stories at retail. Contact us to find out how we assist in sharing your brand story today!