Happy Chemicals
What is Loyalty? How our brain chemicals affect loyalty and engagement.
95% of our purchasing decisions are made with our subconscious mind.
95% of our purchasing decisions are made with our subconscious mind, which is mainly driven by emotion. Research shows we’re not as savvy as we might think! We spend time comparing brands, pricing, features and functionality, but the ultimate decision is largely emotional. When we are emotionally engaged with a brand, we feel loyal to that brand and are more likely to continue buying their products.
This is why businesses need to harness those emotional connections. In fact, a report from Capgemini found that 82% of consumers with high emotional engagement would always buy the brand they are loyal to when making purchasing decisions, and as many as 70% of emotionally engaged consumers say they spend twice as much or more on brands they are loyal to.
Us humans are driven by emotion, even when we think we’re not! There are several chemicals which govern our emotions.
The main three responsible for happiness are Dopamine, Oxytocin and Serotonin.
If brands want to create long-lasting emotional connections, they need to understand how these chemicals flow.
First up…
Dopamine
Also known as the ‘reward’ or ‘achievement’ hormone, dopamine makes us feel great, and it’s a marketer’s best friend!
A hit of dopamine results in a sense of satisfaction and pleasure. You know that satisfying feeling you get when you enjoy your favourite foodie treat or when you decide to get a new car? That amazing feeling of satisfaction is dopamine being released.
It’s an addictive feeling, thereby motivating us and encouraging the activity to be repeated again and again.
Businesses can harness the dopamine effect to drive positive, long-lasting and rewarding relationships with their customers.
1 – Personalisation is key.
Having a more personalised approach means the content is relevant to the customer and the customer is more likely to feel that sense of satisfaction. But in order to tailor content to customers, you need to have data. So you need to understand buying behaviour, demographics, preferences, and more. With this data, you can make data-driven decisions at every stage of the customer lifecycle to incentivise behaviours, which trigger dopamine.
2 – Having a customer loyalty programme can give you this valuable data to help build the rewarding relationships.
When a reward is associated with a sale or purchase, the dopamine effect is significantly amplified. Plus, if the reward is perfectly tailored to the customer, it boosts that dopamine effect. A win-win. Not only will a customer loyalty programme give you juicy data, but it rewards customers for their loyalty, triggering that all-important dopamine release.
Next up…
Oxytocin
Also known as “the love hormone”, oxytocin is released when you form strong and long-lasting emotional connections.
This also applies to businesses and brands. It’s that warm feeling you get when a customer assistant goes out of their way to make your shopping experience extra special or when you spend quality time with your family. It makes us feel appreciated, loved or simply gives us that warm fuzzy feeling.
Oxytocin is the most important chemical when it comes to building long-term loyalty and trust as it increases empathy and communication – key to sustaining relationships. Havard Business Review shared a research article about the neuroscience of trust. Numerous experiments were completed which proved higher oxytocin levels increase trust, even with strangers.
When building long-term customer loyalty, businesses need to get that oxytocin flowing. Exceptional customer experiences and providing WOW moments will do just that. Turn good customer service into amazing customer experiences. Go that extra mile and you’ll see your customer loyalty flourish. Recognising this loyalty and commitment to your brand is another way to trigger oxytocin. A loyalty programme that has recognition and reward baked in, is the best way to showcase your appreciation. Not only can you recognise desired behaviours, but it rewards those behaviours – triggering that all-important dopamine effect again.
Here at Incentivesmart, we believe in the power of oxytocin so much, we’ve made it a core part of our branding and logo.
And last but not least…
Serotonin
Also known as the ‘wellbeing’ hormone, Serotonin stabilises our mood, feelings of well-being and happiness.
When this chemical is flowing, it helps with sleeping, eating, and digesting and reduces depression and anxiety. It’s also an essential hormone for engaging your employees and channel partners.
When we feel a sense of accomplishment, we feel proud – releasing a hit of serotonin. Recognition for good work makes us feel proud and loyalty programmes give you the mechanism to recognise and reward great work and those all-important positive behaviours.
Serotonin motivates leaders to be the best they can be & motivates their team to excel. It creates strong and positive emotions.
So, remember, if you want to get any of these chemicals flowing for your teams and customers, you need to deliver fantastic experiences, recognise and reward desired behaviours and continue building those Rewarding Relationships.