While many signs point to economic recovery, companies will need to work harder and smarter to find and capitalize on growth opportunities. In an environment undergoing profound change, the face of Marketing is changing.

According to the Accenture Marketing Executive Survey 2011, nearly eight in 10 senior marketing executives noted growing profitably was most important to their current marketing strategy. To support this renewed focus on growth, improving customer retention loyalty was cited as the most important business issue to address by 79 percent of marketing executives. The most important key aspect of this transformation is a heightened focus on building customer-centric loyalty in a rapidly changing consumer context.

Changing playing field: Is consumer loyalty truly a relic of a past era?
Marketing has a greater role than ever when it comes to returning companies to profitable growth—and the key will be developing a new, nimble and customer-centric approach. With fewer than 50 percent of consumers declared themselves to “feel loyal” to the brands they purchase, Marketing executives acknowledge the fact that they are increasingly challenged by major changes in their customer bases. The economic downturn significantly altered customers’ overall purchase behavior and what they want and expect from (their) providers, especially in terms of product quality, more value for their money and customer service.

Today’s customers are generally better informed, less influenced by conventional brands, and more likely to assess brands based on their own experience or the experience of their acquaintances. Customers are also increasingly aware of their power, as well as their value, and are not shy about exercising this power.

To earn and keep customer loyalty, many companies have been developing loyalty programs that offer specific benefits based on how often or how much customers do business with the company. In the current context however, it is critical for companies to transform customer insights into innovative propositions and relevant customer experiences in order to solidify loyalty and engagement along the entire life cycle. To effectively drive innovation, companies need to establish the structure, processes, people, accountability and systems that enable them to profitably translate customer insights into products, services and experiences that inspire loyalty.

Building customer loyalty, trust and engagement
To become more agile, analytical, relevant and consistent, 2 key elements of building customer loyalty and trust needs to be delivered: Innovation and Experience.

Offering innovation is a key element of building customer loyalty and trust. The vast majority (89 percent) among executives rate innovation as equally (or more important than) other initiatives to help sustain customer loyalty and position their companies for future success. To effectively drive innovation, companies need to establish the structure, processes, people, accountability and systems that enable them to profitably translate customer insights into products, services and experiences that inspire loyalty. On the other side, delivering highly relevant experiences consistently—across multiple channels—is the essence of customer centricity and engagement. It is about ensuring delivery of the experience that was initially promised to consumers along all touch points and interactions, leveraging deep analytics and insights.

Like never before, marketing executives are in a unique position to lead the growth agenda for their companies. Relevant innovation and customer engagement are the key. By creating compelling new offers and enabling differentiated experiences, your company can strengthen loyalty and trust with existing customers and engage new ones.

For more information about Customer-Centric Loyalty, please read our recently published report.