By Jamie Barrie W hat does Netflix, Domino’s Pizza, Walmart, Major League Baseball and Coors have in common, well it is more than just being for the masses. Well according to a recent Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, which examines customers’ relationships with 740 brands in 83 categories, all of the above brands were rated to have the most loyal customer in their respective categories. We all know that when it comes to beer that brand loyalty is sometimes hard to understand, and a great beer to one person can be considered less than desirable to another, and the reasons there are so many brands out there. It is also the main reason behind the amazing growth of the craft brewing industry in North America. This recently released Brand Keys report has tried to quantify just where that loyalty comes from and which beer brand does it best by using Brand Keys data which paints a detailed picture of the category drivers that engage customers, engender loyalty and drive real profits. These drivers not only define how the consumer will view the category, compare offerings, and, ultimately, buy, but also identify the expectations the consumer holds for each driver. The brand whose drivers come closest to meeting (or even exceeding) those of the category will always be the ones whose customers will demonstrate the highest levels of engagement and loyalty over the next 12 to 18 months. Of course, we know you are going to question, what exactly is “brand engagement”? And for you professional Googler’s I am sure you are looking it up right now to see what it means and why your beer is not being considered. According to Brand Key president, Robert Passikoff, “”Brand engagement” is a measure of how well a brand meets expectations con- sumers hold for the path-to- purchase drivers in a given category.” So more or less, customers have expectations when it comes to why and how they buy beer; according to Brand Key, Coors did the best job in meeting those expectations. Passikoff points out, “Brands that cannot meet expectations lose customers and market share.” He also want to say that the Brand Keys index only looked at a bucketful of the thousands of beer brands that are available, focusing on only the engagement of the largest brand names. It must be said that a failure to engage and retain customers doesn’t really say much about a beer itself, only its marketing and in many ways, inspiring loyalty isn’t about having the best beer product in the market, but giving customers what they want and expect from the brand and this year Coors is currently the beer brand that knows beer customers best. It is the first time that Coors and Coors Light have the highest level for both beer categories – regular and light for brand engagement and loyalty having the brand on a mountain high.
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SEPTEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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