Satisfaction and loyalty link to profitability
A major, well-known UK fashion brand with a very diverse mix of
customers had been losing profitability over several years. The
purpose of the research was to better understand frequent,
infrequent and lapsed customers' behaviour and perceptions of the
brand, and how this was impacting their likelihood and reasons to
shop.
The research study comprised of focus groups, an in-home diary
study, and a lengthy self-completion questionnaire, discussing all
aspects of customers relationship to the brand, perceptions of the
product range, personal perceptions of style, confidence with
fashion, and past and present purchase behavior. A Factor and
Cluster analysis brought out distinct profiles of satisfied/loyals
and dissatisfied/non loyals - illustrating that customers either
loved or hated the brand. With this information, we were able to
link each respondent to the store card database and investigate
actual purchase behavior over time.
Our findings proved very powerful for senior management, as the
information showed just how much business was being lost by having
dissatisfied customers. With this, management was able to review
perceptions of the brand and create a new marketing plan to tackle
these perceptions.
