Brand loyalty: why we buy the things we do

Why do we go back to the same brands and suppliers again and again?

In a world of almost infinite choices, it might seem counterintuitive to keep buying from the same suppliers every time. How do you know that you couldn’t find a better deal somewhere else?

But human behavior makes a different kind of sense: we’re all trying to navigate a world of choice without getting overwhelmed. And even when we’re making buying decisions on behalf of our organizations, the brands and businesses that know how to get beyond the rational, and connect with us emotionally, do the best. 

We’re just trying to stop our brains from overheating

Our brains are constantly making tiny choices and snap judgments. Some sources estimate that we make 35,000 decisions every day. To preserve cognitive energy, our brains make most of our choices automatically. The neuroscientist Daniel Kahneman calls this automatic mode System one thinking: an unconscious decision-making process driven by habit or gut feeling. 

System one thinking is in control when you speed dial your coffee supplier or hit re-order on the printer inks.  These choices may have been logical and thought-through. But now they’re automatic, freeing up mental bandwidth for more complex decisions.

So what gets a purchase decision onto the autopilot list in the first place? And how can we be the automatic choice for our customers?

Emotions call the shots

Harvard Business School says that 95% of purchases are emotionally driven. We like to think we’re rational consumers, weighing up price and convenience, especially in a business context. 

But even at work, we’re still humans with human brains. And more often than not, our emotional instincts call the shots. Then our rational brains come up with reasons to justify them. We’re not just buying products. We’re buying how they make us feel. Even when it’s on the company credit card. 

We’re looking for someone to trust

The most obvious of these feelings is trust: In a world where we are overwhelmed with decisions to make, there are obvious reasons we return to the same hairdresser, mechanic or café.

We know what to expect and what they’ll deliver. They know what we like and make life a bit easier. When a brand consistently delivers on time, lives up to its promises, offering quality or value we can rely on, it earns our trust, and stops us from having to think about which brand to choose. Trust acts like a filter. It simplifies our choices and removes risk. 

But it’s not the only emotion at play.

Feelings lead us to brands, even in business

Harvard identified hundreds of emotional motivators that guide us towards particular brands, from belonging to confidence, nostalgia, to excitement. We might be drawn to one brand because it feels familiar. Or another because it feels fresh. We might keep going to one because it helps us fit in, another because it makes us stand out.

The common thread is that the brands that earn our loyalty are the ones that make us feel something. And the emotional connection is what keeps us coming back.

Loyalty is worth more than spend alone

When we connect with a brand emotionally, we’re not just more likely to buy again. We’re more likely to tell others about it too. Talking about the brands we love is a form of identity signalling. The brands we use say something about who we are, what we value, and how we want to be seen.

When people around us use the same brands, it reinforces our own choices. Psychologists call this social proof: the sense that we’re making good decisions because others are making them too.

Connection is everything

That’s why we keep working to earn trust, contribute great ideas, and do exactly what we promised.

We also want our customers to be proud to work with us. That’s why we’ve revamped our Refer an earn offer: when you refer one of your contacts to MOO Business Plans, you can get them big savings on their first orders.

We’ll give you a gift voucher to say thanks, too.

To get started, fill out this simple form, and one of our team members will be in touch shortly.