Avoid the Trade-Down: Influencing Loyalty at the Peak of Inflation

Consumers are facing large price hikes at every turn and opting for more economic alternatives

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In the past few months, we’ve seen inflation skyrocket to a 40-year high. Consumers continue to face large price hikes at every turn. As everyday expenses increase at the gas pump and grocery stores, the potential decrease in discretionary spending is making marketers anxious.

The longer consumers are faced with increasing prices, the more likely they will put their brand loyalty to the side and opt for more economical alternatives. Thus, holding onto that customer loyalty and avoiding the trade-down should be every marketer’s top priority. Creators are going to play a crucial role in marketers’ ability to keep customers close.

Trust still reigns supreme

Price is no doubt one of the many factors that consumers consider when making purchase decisions, but trust is equally important. A recent study found that an overwhelming majority (88%) of consumers prioritize trust when choosing a brand to buy from or a service to use.

Another study found that over 90% of consumers want brands to treat them like human beings. This means brands can mitigate the potential negative impacts of price increases if they carefully invest in other trust-building marketing programs like creator marketing.

When a brand’s interaction with its customer is through a trusted creator, the connection is much stronger and more authentic when compared to other marketing channels. The bond that creators have with their audiences is hard to replicate, and marketers should leverage the partnership to build on trust. The main reason is that creators, with their individual strong likes and dislikes, can show up for consumers on their own terms and in the right format.

Creators are experts at using their platforms to build on a brand’s narrative and fill in the details. Creators can deliver a sense of understanding that enhances a brand relationship by making the connection relatable, personal and relevant. A creator’s endorsement gives third-party validation for brands and products that customers truly trust.

In times of business challenges, creators can also help humanize the brand, make hiccups a lot more forgiving and articulate hard-to-explain details. For example, a creator can express how, despite price increases caused by an inventory shortage in Madrid, they are still excited to purchase the product because of the high quality and how the item is truly worth every dollar.

Creators can purposefully and relatably include these story points and reinforce the brand’s commitment to its customers. For these reasons, creator marketing is truly a channel that can enhance brand love while driving sales.

Short-term survival for the long-term benefit

Understanding where your audience is and working with the right creator partners will help brands protect revenue in the short term. However, after these challenges are long gone, creator marketing will remain a critical marketing channel since brand trust with customers can be continuously cultivated via creators. Building on the momentum and scaling creator marketing efforts strategically through an always-on and a full-funnel approach will ensure long-term sustainable success.

Marketers who think about the big picture know that creator campaigns should never just be a one-time activation. Creator marketing is not simply a box to check. An always-on approach ensures that a brand is putting out consistent messaging and garnering consistent coverage and engagement.

Furthermore, activating creator marketing over time has many benefits. It allows the marketer to refine and evolve the programming with real-time data. A longer timeline also helps brands develop stronger relationships with creators, which is equally important as trust with customers.

Customers will perceive a creator campaign as more trustworthy when a creator is speaking about a brand or product on a continuous, ongoing basis. Often, brands who have continuously invested in creator marketing tend to establish and cement stronger, more intimate relationships with creators. And those relationships can be reinforced through paid and organic efforts.

With more time and budget dedicated to testing and learning, brands are better positioned to take advantage of a full-funnel creator marketing strategy. They can seize this opportunity to invest in a diverse group of influencers of varying audience sizes and across different platforms. While marketers may initially benefit from investing in more mid-tier and micro creators who have hyper-engaged followings to drive sales and trust in the product, larger creators with a massive following can help elevate brand awareness, credibility and reputation.

Often, these top-tier creators bring exquisite creativity and storytelling to brand campaigns and denote an aspirational lifestyle that can help amplify brand presence in a crowded marketplace. This combined approach will allow brands to reach as many potential customers as possible and ensure the right customers are reached with the right message throughout the awareness, consideration and conversion marketing funnels.

In times of uncertainty, trust remains the foundational building block that keeps customers loyal. It is precious. It can’t be bought or coerced into.

While it may seem like a daunting task to keep a business afloat and almost impossible to plan ahead, challenging times are often the catalyst to great innovation and creativity. Marketers who can adapt accordingly with optimism and audacity will no doubt prevail.