Consumer Brand Loyalty in a recession
We recently held a ‘Pulse Breakfast Forum’ in Kuala Lumpur with the main topic being ‘Consumer Brand Loyalty in a recession’. The forum is part of a regional effort in which we share insights to monthly regional surveys conducted online, and amongst n=3,750 consumers region-wide.
The forum was attended by the industry’s leading thought-leaders, CEO’s, and Media agencies who all had a vast vested interest in securing the engagement and most importantly ‘share-of-wallet’ of their consumers.
1) Some of the findings were that as much as consumers seek ‘value’ during a recession, they are also extremely jittery and prone to switch brands as soon as prices are slashed.
2) Price sensitivity had also lead to product, venue, and retail downgrades
3) Malaysians remained pretty bullish about the economic outlook for the next six-months, although will remain cautious when it came to spending
4) Luxury categories were effected badly
5) Categories such as Petrol retained a high-level of loyal customers
6) Digital was a huge driver towards engaging with brands, researching products, and also purchasing in various categories
7) Tactical Ad’s were most welcomed, and a majority of consumers actually look forward to ‘sales’ and ‘promotions’ more than ever to gain more bang for their buck
In terms of some of the principles we believe were required to stay relevant and to have a voice were;
1) Focus on your core audience
2) Continue your Marketing activities, you really need to be heard
3) Go Digital
4) Innovate and invest in research (off course!)
5) Be Tactical
6) Add and deliver value
While this was an ‘invitation only’ event, we would be happy to share top-line findings with you if interested. Please email forums@pulse-group.com to request a copy of the top-line report.
Tags: Bob Chua, Brand Loyalty, Consumer Research, Forums, Pulse