Sitecore, the global leader in customer experience management, today announced the results of a consumer brand loyalty study based on insight from more than 1,000 consumers in North America. Conducted in conjunction with King Brown Partners, the research analyzes digital consumers’ attitudes and behaviors towards categories and brands, specifically those of baby boomers (boomers) and millennials. Sitecore released the findings today to coincide with the Sitecore® Experience Platform™ (XP) 8.1 launch.

While overall brand satisfaction is high at 76 percent, context-based experiences emerged as a key driver of brand loyalty. Specifically, millennials are 70 percent more likely than boomers to strongly believe that “brands are not using the most relevant technology to interact with me,” and 30 percent are more likely to strongly believe that “brands that use the right technology…are doing better than those that don’t.” Of note, many consumers, particularly millennials, are open to interacting with brands via different channels. When it comes to personalized offers, 66 percent of millennials find it highly aggravating when personalized advertising is off-target.

“To get the customer experience right and retain customers for life, brands must cater to the changing tides of millennial expectations,” said Scott Anderson, CMO, Sitecore. “Long gone are the days where a ‘one size fits all’ approach will satisfy a customer’s needs. The data shows that in today’s fast-changing world, consumer loyalty to a brand depends on consistency, convenience, and context. With this insight, marketers have an opportunity to adapt their strategies with the consumer in mind.”

Other key findings:

Consumers have varied expectations for brick-and-mortar versus online experiences:

• Boomers are nearly 80 percent more likely to believe brick-and-mortar retailers treat their customers the best
• Boomers are much less likely than millennials to switch brands because another brand makes it easier to interact with them using various technology platforms
• Boomers are 73 percent more likely than millennials to prefer interaction with a brand via direct mail while millennials are much more likely to prefer social media and mobile apps
• Millennials are almost three times more likely to believe personal technology brands are best in treating their customers

Faster service, and consistent, convenient, flexible shopping experiences drive brand favorability:

• Eighty percent of respondents overall agreed that offering consistent shopping experiences strongly impacts brand perception
• Nine times as many millennials picked different ways to purchase as the most impactful strategy in improving brand favorability, while boomers were much more likely to select consistent experience in shopping as the number one driver of brand perception
• Eighty-six percent of respondents say faster service strongly impacts their brand perception
• Ninety-one percent of consumers would switch brands if another offers better customer service
• Eighty-nine percent of consumers would switch brands if they received poor customer service
• Ninety percent of consumers would switch brands if the brand promises one thing and delivers another

About the research
The study is based on a survey of 1,012 consumers based in North America conducted by King Brown Partners in September 2015. The online quantitative survey sampled online consumers and reflects a representative mix of digital consumers age 18 and up. Demographic information collected for the survey included internet usage frequency, geography, gender, marital status, and digital content consumption.

About Sitecore
Sitecore is the global leader in experience management software. The Sitecore® Experience Platform™ manages content, supplies contextual intelligence, and automates communications, at scale. It empowers marketers to deliver content in context of how customers have engaged with their brand, across every channel, in real time. More than 4,400 of the world’s leading brands—including American Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, easyJet, and L’Oréal—trust Sitecore for context marketing to deliver the personalized interactions that delight audiences, build loyalty, and drive revenue.