Customer Loyalty Engagement Index

Frustrated by the inadequacies of the traditional research toolbox to meaningfully differentiate brands or show any correlation to sales, Dr. Robert Passikoff developed a proprietary system, grounded in clinical psychology, that provides brand equity metrics that accurately predict future in-market consumer behavior and correlate highly with sales and profitability. Brand Keys, Inc. — the New York-based independent boutique Dr. Passikoff founded in 1984 — is the only research consultancy in the world that specializes in customer loyalty engagement.

The Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index^sm is an annual syndicated study — initiated in 1997 — that currently examines customers' relationships with 444 brands in 63 categories.

The sample is made up of men and women 18 to 65 years of age drawn from the nine U.S. Census regions. Respondents (50:50 M/F and an even-age-spread representation) are screened according to category particulars, then asked to assess the brand for which they have been determined to be a "customer." The screening varies from category to category, but generally respondents fall into the top 20 percent of the customer base. Eighty-five percent of the interviews are conducted via telephone. The remaining 15 percent are collected via central-location intercepts among "cell phone only" respondents.

The interview methodology is a combination of proprietary psychological assessments and higher-level statistical analyses, allowing us to statistically fuse the "emotional" values with the "rational" attributes that identify the bond that exists between brand and consumer. The strength of the bond represents the degree of loyalty consumers will exhibit toward a brand. Our indirect-inquiry approach allows us to understand what really drives an audience's future purchases in a category and to measure the direction and velocity of customer and category values. In short, we identify what consumers actually think as opposed to what they say they think.

We employ two proprietary lines of questions:

1.

Psychological Assessments: These reveal the values that drive consumers' in-market behavior and quantify what they are willing to believe about a brand - as opposed to what they tell you they believe. Our questionnaire has a test/retest reliability of .93 calculated from National Probability Samples in the US and UK, and has been used in B2B and B2C categories in 26 countries around the world. According to the Advertising Research Foundation, the theoretical framework Brand Keys employs has been shown to be most highly correlated to sales - nearly three times better than standard persuasion measures. That noted, we have a number of other case and validity studies that reflect the predictive nature of Brand Keys Loyalty metrics' link to positive consumer behavior in the marketplace and, ultimately, to profitability.

2.

Direct Importance Ratings of Category and Customer Attributes, Benefits, and Values (ABVs): Consumers assess ABVs for import in a given category. Through a series of factor, regression, and causal-path analyses, these consumer-driven assessments are used to configure and identify the four drivers of loyalty for the category. These category-loyalty drivers describe (in predictive terms) how consumers view the category, how they will compare brands in the category, and how they will buy and remain loyal.

The Customer Loyalty Engagement Index^sm provides the following:

• The Category Ideal.
• Identification of the four category drivers of loyalty.
• The order of import of the drivers.
• The percent-contribution each driver makes to future engagement and loyalty.
• An identification of how the category/customer attributes, benefits, and values come together to form the components of each category driver.
• The percent-contribution that each of component makes to the individual category driver.
• Whether there have been shifts in the percent-contribution each driver makes.
• The expectation held for each category driver - that is, how high is "up" for each driver.
• Tracking of changes in expectation levels.
• Category Ideal expectation level versus Average Ideal Score of the other categories.
• How the brand measures up to the consumer expectations for the Ideal.
• Brand strengths and weaknesses versus select competitors.
• Overall Brand Equity (weighted average of a brand on each of the four loyalty drivers) indices.
• Identification of category trends vis-à-vis changes in driver order, configuration, and expectations.

The degree to which a brand can meet or exceed the expectations set by consumers defines the level of loyalty a brand can expect to see 12 to 18 months down the road.

The Index focuses on American consumers; we provide customized, cost-effective assessments for clients with customers in other countries and in specialized segments.

Customer Loyalty Insights Report

This report is customized for your brand, utilizing data from the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Our research metrics are proven to be predictive of future consumer behavior and will significantly enhance your current level of insight.

A Customer Loyalty Insights Report will provide you with:

• The drivers of loyalty and engagement in your category and tell you which drivers are most important.


• How consumers compare, assess, and choose brands within your category.


• Where consumers hold the highest expectations in the category — in short, where should your brand dig for differentiation gold.


• How your brand is positioned versus competition in the consumer's mind.

For more information about the Customer Loyalty Insights Report for your brand, click here or call Leigh Benatar at 212-532-6028 on extension 15.