Building Brand Loyalty in Malaysia: 3 Simple Ways that Actually Work

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As a business owner, we understand that running a business is a tedious but rewarding job. We know you’re doing a lot already so kudos to that!

So maybe your business is up and running, and has been for the past couple of years. Are you aware if your business has a solid brand and loyal clientele? Building a loyal customer following is no easy feat. However, it can turn out to be the key to winning over your competitors!

The presence of online stores has encouraged customers to compare options and fish out for low pricing and discounts. This can unfortunately considerably diminish your business’ brand loyalty.

So just how, can you as a small business owner build and maintain your company’s brand while retaining loyal customers?

Here are 3 simple ways that actually work to building brand loyalty:

1. Provide Excellent Customer Service

In the world of business, quality customer service is perhaps the only thing that never changes.

While businesses focus on price value, place yours on the quality of your products and services. Some exemplary brands in Malaysia with excellent customer service include Toyota, Frost & Sullivan and more.

Let your customers know what your product is made of, and stress the value your product brings to the market.

Be creative with how you display information. If it is an online store, include interesting videos of the process behind your product.

Emphasize your product’s material and quality under the product information category. Dedicate a page on your site for reviews and feedback to give assurance.

Physical stores can emphasize the specialty of their products on their promotional banners. Provide quality sales assistance. Use the advantage of human interaction to establish rapport.

Exceptional customer service enhances customer experience. Better customer experience means a higher rate of repeat customers.

Customer service bridges the gap between repeat customers and brand loyalty. Improving customer service is also a bottom-up approach to achieving brand loyalty.

2. Use Social Media and Content Marketing [restrict]

Social media and content marketing is the new best way to achieve brand loyalty.

Higher engagement and activity of users on these platforms,  facilitate connectivity between brands and their customers.

The emergence of social media has greatly reduced traffic on websites as more time is spent on social media.

As such, it would be a good idea for retailers to include their stores in these channels. Alternatively, retailers can create interactive accounts or pages linking users to their site.

Engagement is key. Utilise FB pages, Instagram, Twitter and blogs to actively provide content. Online contests and challenges are a good way to get customers involved. Participation of customers is simpler, faster and easier. Hence, having a high pull factor.

Brick-and-mortar stores without an online store can utilize social media to hold contests and create a blog to provide more information to customers frequently.

Online users favor content marketing. Providing insight, tips, and inspiration via blog, is a great way to increase customers’ perceived value.

Contributing additional information first builds value and gradually, solidifies customer relationship. When a strong relationship is formed, brand loyalty is accomplished.

Encourage interaction by replying to comments and having group pages for communities to network and relate to your brand. Research best marketing practices for each social media type. Adopt the latest trends to capture a wider market.

For instance, leverage Instagram’s IGTV feature to maximise promotion and bring in traffic. It effectively helps to increase engagement, relatability, and personalisation.

This is also another way to further increase your Instagram following. Your number of followers easily multiply when you are unique, genuine, relatable and provide valuable content.

Some popular Malaysian brands on Instagram to get inspiration from include AirAsia, Lazada, Zalora, PizzaHut and more. These measures serve as the foundation for building brand loyalty via digital platforms.

3. Establish a Brand Loyalty Privilege Program

Offering loyalty privileges is necessary for building and maintaining brand loyalty.

What value does being a loyal customer bring to me? Understand from the point of consumers, what factors would motivate customer loyalty. Conduct surveys, or follow up messages to obtain feedback from your customers.

Based on proper analysis derived from customers, a loyalty privilege program can consist of redeemable points.

You can also create an online database to record customer information. Your loyalty program can be designed to collect details such as date of birth, religion and related information to deliver seasonal discounts or greetings during special occasions.

This also allows personalisation of messages and communication with customers. However, make sure to carry out this strategy appropriately. Avoid spamming customers and be sure to always abide by personal data guidelines. 

Read here to understand the following data privacy laws in your country before collecting your customers’ personal details. 

One other approach you can also employ is to incentivize your customers to promote additional purchases. One way to do this is to create cards to collect stickers or stamps for redeeming free gifts. Some top loyalty cards of Malaysia are BonusLink, B Infinite, AEON Member, Watsons VIP Cards, Genting Rewards and more.

Another way is to deliver follow-up messages following a purchase about loyalty privileges. This is often, an effective way to encourage cross-selling besides building brand loyalty.

Actionable takeaway:

The key to building brand loyalty is by focusing on delivering quality and value.

Provide good content and interact more with customers to establish a strong relationship with customers.

Always keep up with new ways to communicate with and keep customers engaged.

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