The underestimated target group - regular customers and their importance for brand success

The biggest threat to brands is the migration of their core customers. Marketing intelligence can be used to counter this challenge; it is the central theme of the Brand Roadshow 2019, which is being organized by the Serviceplan Group and GfK. The results are based on both GfK studies and a survey of marketers.

General retention behavior in society is growing - for example, the number of weddings has been increasing for years - but in contrast, people's brand loyalty is steadily declining. According to current GfK findings, the churn of existing customers averages 30 percent per year - a fact that many marketers are not aware of. At the same time, however, regular customers account for almost 70 percent of sales.

The Brand Roadshow 2019 is dedicated to this topic. The core message is that it is not enough to simply increase the media budget and thus, for example, the demographically defined reach. Rather, a new type of marketing intelligence is needed, one that focuses above all on advertising impact and planning in real time.

Regular customers are of elementary importance for a brand's sales, as this year's Brand Roadshow shows: not only do they generate 70 percent of sales, they even ensure higher market shares and almost 50 percent higher prices on the market for brands with an above-average share of existing customers. What's more, 75 percent of new buyers make only one purchase. Yet 80 to 90 percent of communications budgets are still spent on new customer acquisition.

If potential new buyers are to be reached, they must be addressed with the same brand values as existing customers - another important result of the marketing event. Therefore, the classic planning process of brand management must be fundamentally changed and the analysis of retention factors must be placed at the beginning.

As part of the annual Brand Roadshow (formerly Marketing Meeting), the Serviceplan Group, together with GfK, offers insights into highly topical issues at various locations in German-speaking countries. Renowned speakers present the latest research findings as well as new tools and practical concepts to expert guests from the marketing scene.