What is Brand Loyalty and How Can Companies Build It?

In a world where choice is king, brand loyalty is more important than ever.

Browse any marketplace and you’ll find dozens of options for almost every product or service you can imagine. In this environment, brand loyalty – the instinct that keeps people returning to the same brand repeatedly – may look like an endangered species. 

Recent reporting has found Gen Z, in particular, has different expectations and behaviors toward loyalty. One study reveals that 62% of Gen Z’ers would check out other options when making a purchase, even if they have a favorite brand.

At the same time, Qualtrics’ 2025 Global Consumer Study reports that 69 percent of buyers say they are still “likely to purchase more” from brands they already trust, even though overall customer loyalty indicators have dipped slightly year-on-year.

If you're working in marketing, cultivating devotion is no longer optional – it’s the single most reliable way to protect margins, grow market share, and build durable brand equity. 

In this guide, we'll unpack what has changed – and what hasn’t – about building brand loyalty over recent years, then walk you through the psychology, tactics, measurement frameworks, and Brandwatch tools that help you put each insight into action.

Understanding brand loyalty in 2025

While the definition of brand loyalty might seem quite simple – it's basically about customers choosing to buy things from the same brand or business on repeat – there are some additional aspects worth considering.

Investopedia frames brand loyalty as a “consumer’s commitment to repurchasing a particular brand regardless of price.” That definition still stands, but two nuances matter in 2025.

• Emotion over transaction – The bond rests on how customers feel – their perceptions of quality, trust, and shared purpose – more than on discounts or convenience alone.
• Community reinforcement – Always-on social media gives loyal fans a microphone, turning private preference into public advocacy within seconds.

Brand loyalty versus customer loyalty

Marketers often conflate brand loyalty and customer loyalty, but they're not the same thing.

Customer loyalty usually reflects habits or incentives; think of shoppers who stick around because shipping is free or because a punch card is almost full. 

Brand loyalty, by contrast, endures when promotions disappear. Amazon Ads puts it succinctly: loyal buyers “continue to buy from the same brand because the relationship feels personal.”

Understanding that distinction is essential because strategies that over-emphasize short-term perks can actually erode strong brand loyalty by training buyers to chase the next coupon or bonus code instead of valuing the brand itself.

Why brand loyalty is important for every growth metric

The impact of brand loyalty can't be understated. In fact, it shows up in nearly every KPI that marketers track.

First of all, loyal customers bring in more profit over time. This means that your customer lifetime value (CLV) multiplies. Loyal shoppers generate up to 10 times more revenue over their customer lifetime than first-time buyers, according to Bain’s longitudinal research.

Acquisition costs shrink, too. Retaining existing customers can be five to 25 times cheaper than recruiting new customers, as Harvard Business Review reminds us.

Brand loyalty is also great for racking up positive chatter about your company. When loyal customers advocate, that word-of-mouth brings in potential customers who arrive primed to buy – often at zero media spend.

Typically, your data quality also soars. More repeat purchases create richer first-party data, boosting personalization across the customer journey.

In short, loyalty is not a vanity metric; it is the engine that drives sustainable, profitable growth.

The psychology behind building brand loyalty

Great brands rarely win devotion through price alone. 

A series of Harvard Business Review articles argues that an “emotional connection” outperforms simple customer satisfaction in predicting retention and share-of-wallet. 

At a neurological level, humans remember emotionally charged experiences more vividly and are more likely to share them, creating a feedback loop of social proof that reinforces preference.

There are three drivers that shape that connection.

It all starts with perceived brand quality. When people believe your offer is inherently superior, they're more likely to buy.

Perceived brand trust is vital, too. People expect you to do what you say.

Finally, shared brand values can help – this means that your purpose aligns with their identity.

When those beliefs overlap, the positive experience that results often sparks advocacy and fuels repeat business.

Six pillars of strong brand loyalty (and how to reinforce each one)

If you want to increase brand loyalty, there are a few areas you should focus on.

1. Quality that never wavers

Consistent quality will help customers feel like your brand is reliable and trustworthy. 

You can showcase this quality by encouraging transparent customer reviews and user-generated content. In fact, 82 percent of consumers say UGC makes them more likely to buy. 

2. Trust earned through transparency

You're more likely to achieve high levels of brand loyalty if your brand feels authentic. This means being transparent and honest about setbacks or challenges affecting your product offering. 

For example, during 2024’s inflation surge, brands that openly discussed price pressures retained trust better than those that did not. Furthermore, Qualtrics finds that brands perceived as trustworthy are 1.7 times more likely to win repeat customers.

3. Values that resonate

Sustainability, diversity, and social impact all influence loyalty these days. This means being clear about where you stand on the issues that matter to your customers and taking a stand for the things you care about. 

This might involve taking steps to ensure your company is climate-positive or making conscious and ethical choices when it comes to materials and manufacturing.

4. A top-notch customer experience

Difficulties at checkout, shipping, or support can erode devotion faster than any ad can rebuild it. For this reason, it's important to get ahead of any issues in these areas and make sure you're providing the best experience possible.

For example, connecting frontline teams to real-time social insights via Brandwatch Social Media Management can help your agents deliver excellent customer service at scale.

5. Rewards that feel meaningful

A thoughtfully designed loyalty program does more than hand out points; it rewards loyalty in ways that reinforce the brand story. 

We’ll return to this when we talk about strategies for building brand loyalty, but the key is to focus on rewards that build excitement around your company – instead of offering discounts that do little else to encourage interest in your brand.

6. Community connection

Fans want to belong, and building a community around your brand will make it more likely that customers will come back again and again.

To get to this point, it can help to highlight brand ambassadors (employees, creators, or existing clients) who showcase your products. This creates a feeling of shared identity and fosters deeper connections.

Strategies for building brand loyalty across the customer journey

Let's look at some tried-and-tested strategies for attracting loyal customers.

Start with a flawless first impression

Onboarding is where building brand loyalty begins. To fine-tune this step, start by mapping every early-stage touchpoint: ad clicks, landing pages, and in-app tutorials. 

From here, the trick is to mine conversation clusters and personalize welcome flows so customers feel valued from day one. Brandwatch Consumer Research can help with this.

Deliver continuous, personalized value

“Personalization done right” lifts retention even in cluttered marketplaces, according to Harvard Business Review’s 2024 analysis. 

Feed CRM, web, and social data into dynamic segments so emails and push messages reflect real interests – not generic promotions. This approach can increase brand loyalty without sacrificing margin.

Design loyalty programs that reinforce, not replace, brand love

Loyalty programs succeed when they encourage behavior that customers already enjoy and align perks with brand values. For example, you could offer experiential benefits like early product launches rather than steep discounts and keep loyal customers keen for more without cheapening your products. 

Whatever rewards you go for, keep the rules simple so that people are more likely to engage, and use a tiered status to motivate repeat purchase frequency. Try to build in some exclusivity – access to launch events or limited-edition drops, for instance – to enhance the brand experience.

Embrace social media and user-generated content

Gen Z and Millennials rank authenticity above polish. Featuring customer stories, behind-the-scenes TikTok videos, and community challenges can drive brand loyalty and fill your calendar with inexpensive assets. 

Remember that customers who post about a certain brand publicly tend to become organic brand advocates, so it's important to encourage as much of that as possible.

Empower employees to extend exceptional customer service

Employee experience and customer experiences are inseparable; engaged, happy teams are more likely to create better interactions. 

To make sure your staff are equipped to offer the best experience to customers, you should give them the tools to help them thrive. For example, this could include dashboards that surface sentiment spikes so they can spot issues before they bubble up and maintain brand loyalty even when mistakes happen.

Case study: Patagonia’s ‘Worn Wear’

In order to master brand loyalty, it can be helpful to look at the innovative strategies that real companies are putting into action. One fascinating example here is Patagonia.

Patagonia: Values-first loyalty

Patagonia attracts loyal customers not by pushing seasonal discounts but by aligning every touchpoint, such as its commitment to using recycled materials, offering repair guarantees, and wider activism, with its mission. In the midst of a climate crisis, this sort of genuine approach feels thoughtful, caring, and highly appealing.

Though its price points are generally higher than average, Patagonia is able to offer customers the reassurance that its products will last for years – and its customer service team will be happy to help if there are any problems. In particular, their ‘Worn Wear’ trade-in service keeps gear in use, turning sustainability into a shared badge of honor.

This is the perfect example of cultivating brand loyalty through purpose, not promotions.

Key takeaways of brand loyalty

When considering brand loyalty, it's important to remember one important thing: devotion stems from emotions – quality, trust, and purpose – not price.

Experiences, communities, and rewards programs can all reinforce that bond.

Once you're on your way to boosting brand loyalty, you can use multi-layered metrics to see and strengthen that hard-earned loyalty.

Then, when you're ready to turn those insights into revenue, Brandwatch’s real-time analytics and publishing tools can help. 

For example, Brandwatch Consumer Research helps you uncover loyalty drivers in the conversations that matter. You might find out via social listening that people value the customization choices you offer for a certain product, or maybe buzz is building around a limited edition item. This is great intel for planning future products or service offerings, and keeps customers coming back for more.

You could also schedule a demo of Brandwatch Social Media Management to see how it eases quick customer interactions and aids community building. 

Together, these platforms help you build loyal customer relationships, win your target market, and drive brand loyalty that will last long after your next campaign ends.