Ensuring loyalty to a brand has become increasingly complex as new approaches and online technological platforms change the dynamics of company-customer interaction, and businesses explore various new ways of communicating with consumers.

Synovate is at the forefront of new developments. True Customer View, a new research consulting solution, is currently being introduced in Asia Pacific and Africa, following successful launches in the UK and in the US. The strategy encourages brands to take a broader perspective of how customers view them in the context of competition and the entire marketplace and also allows clients and consumers to customise their responses.

“We help clients capture information that really drives attitudes and behaviour. Whereas other people are asking a hundred irrelevant questions, we’re really doing it in a way that links back to business results,” says John Carroll, Senior Vice President at Synovate.

In order to connect with their customers, Synovate’s clients are increasingly exploring digital technology to find different ways to acquire feedback from them, obtain analysis of consumer behaviour and encourage loyalty to their brand.

Companies are now creating web-based community panels which allow them to interact instantaneously with large groups of consumers in an online environment. Marketing departments can very quickly post information about the company’s promotional events, new products or discounts, and receive customers’ immediate responses.

“Take IKEA for instance. Customers could post pictures of their newly-furnished bedrooms or talk about their shopping experience and even dramatise this through a series of pictures or a video file,” says Ged Parton, Synovate CEO of Global Capabilities.

Advertising and attracting followers through social networking sites, such as Facebook, is also hugely popular. A recent survey conducted by Colloquy and the Direct Marketing Association, showed that the amount businesses spend on social media market increased three-fold (293%) from 2009 to 2010, with social media budgets used for supporting customer loyalty initiatives experiencing the most growth.

Nike is one company that has made a concerted effort to create a unique combination of online and offline offerings. By cooperating with Apple to provide online tools to help customers track their training progress, Nike is expanding customer experience and fostering brand loyalty.

However, Carroll believes online technology has in some ways put more power in the hands of the consumer and new digital approaches are not necessarily having definitive results in driving customer loyalty. “Online information and the ability to buy online has removed a lot of barriers to information and caused more switching behaviour between brands,” he says.

According to Carroll, new interactive technology is providing an important outlet for passionate existing customers. However, to keep them from switching to other brands, companies could still do more to try to direct this advertising to attract new customers who haven’t already signed up to the Twitter account or aren’t so familiar with the brand. As mediums for interaction and advertising increase, companies now have to be present with innovative marketing techniques anywhere consumers spend their time, in order to ensure customer loyalty.

“Digital technology has opened up hundreds of opportunities for companies, all of which should be explored,” says Carroll. “Just as in the film Inception, we have to ask: ‘what would you do if you could get into people’s dreams?’ As a marketer you need to do that.”