According to a recent study published by Accenture, entitled “Seeing Beyond the Loyalty Illusion,” more than half of American consumers have changed brands and providers of various products and services in the past year.

One method for developing and maintaining customer devotion are brand loyalty programs. According to the report, companies that adhere to traditional marketing practices without delving into more sophisticated marketing methods, such as loyalty programs, are not doing themselves any favors in today’s ultra-competitive, global economy.

Other findings of the study include:

• 41% are loyal to brands that personalize their program offerings
  
  
• 44% are loyal to brands that ask them to help design or create products
  
  
• 59% of consumers ‘feel loyalty’ to brands that offer them rewards, no matter how small, such as gift cards and personalized discounts, gained through their devotion to the company or product
  
  

According to Steve Smith, president and founder of GrowthSource Coaching, while branding is what a business’s customers or clients think and feel about that entity, it goes beyond that. “Branding is more than a logo and a tag line. It has to convey a particular reason for being. It has to conjure up specific thoughts about what it means to do business with a particular company,” he says.

Every business has, or should have, an image, reputation and a promise. “The image is created by the position the company takes in the marketplace,” says Smith. Moreover, entities cultivate their reputations based on how they operate.

Smith cites Amazon as a primary example. “Amazon has now completely changed the consumer’s expectation for buying things online and having the purchase delivered the next day,” he says.

“Every business has these branding attributes built based on what customers decide. So, businesses who pay no mind to branding and do things to harm their brand end up with brand images that are not attractive. Think Wells Fargo,” Smith says.

As a business consultant with years of experience advising entrepreneurs how to run their companies more effectively, Smith has developed tried-and-true suggestions for building a superior brand. He says company owners should consider the following when developing branding strategies:

• Determine what current customers think and feel about your company and its goods and services
  
  
• Decipher how your customers perceive your industry overall. Ask yourself whether your company operates in a manner that elevates your entity above competitors
  
  
• Determine whether anything about your business detracts or hinders the way your company delivers on its ‘promises’ to customers. If so, eliminate those obstacles
  
  

“Once you have successfully answered these questions, look at everything you do when your business is running: your customer experience, your advertising, your product or service delivery, your people’s attitudes and your mindset. Everything must be aligned with your central brand promise and image. If not, your reputation is certain and probably not what you want,” says Smith.

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Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer who tweets as a @girlwithapen.