For most brands, the main goal is to capture their customers and for them to ultimately make a purchase. For this to happen, consumers have to go on a decision journey. In the past, marketers have used the marketing funnel model; where consumers start by looking at several brands, and then filter down until they choose the one to purchase from. However, the way consumers now shop is more complex and thought through. Consumers read up on reviews, take note of recommendations, research into competitors, look around for discounts and more.
The best way to look into how consumers now shop, is by looking at the loyalty loop. This marketing model is a little more complex, but still very easy to understand, with just 6 key stages. I’ll break this down for you below. 
The Loyalty Loop Journey
Consider
The consumer journey now starts by considering brands for the product they wish to purchase, this may start with knowing the major competing brands.
Evaluate
Once they’ve found a few brands they’re thinking of buying from, they will then research into them or rely on recommendations from friends, family or reviews.
Buy
Well, this is self explanatory, once they’ve evaluated the brands, they will then make a purchase with their chosen one.
Enjoy
If the consumer has had a positive experience with the brand, for example, the customer service was really helpful, the website was easy to use, the in-store experience was fun or even the quality of the product was as expected, they are more likely to want to experience it again.
Advocate
As a result of the enjoyable experience, the consumer is going to advocate, which is where they will recommend the brand or product to their friends, write a positive review or even make a repeat purchase.
Bond
If all continues to be positive, the consumer is likely to bond and trust the brand and their products.
So, How Can You Benefit From Looking At The Loyalty Loop?
Every business should be looking into their consumers journey. Are they enjoying it? How can your brand be initially considered? Did they bond with the brand?
To find out the answer to these types of questions, you should be sending out questionnaires or reviews for those who’ve made a purchase. You can ask about where they heard of you, or just generally how they thought their purchase experience was. This information is vital to improve your consumer journey.
If you’re a new business and haven’t had enough customers to get clear insights, you could create a campaign that will increase your brand visibility, so that your brand is more likely to be considered. This will put your brand at the start of the loyalty loop.
If you’ve already had plenty of customers, but they aren’t re-purchasing from you, then you could be sending out discounts to these customers, to keep them bonded and loyal to your brand.
There’s all sorts you can be doing to bring in more customers and to keep them happy!
