Only seven US companies have earned 'very strong' loyalty ratings while 37 companies earned 'very weak' loyalty ratings, according to the '2012 Temkin Loyalty Ratings' report by Temkin Group, which rated 10,000 consumers' loyalty toward 206 large companies across 18 industries.
The study examined customer loyalty within 18 industries, found that the country's top seven loyalty-leaders included Sam's Club, Aldi, USAA, Publix, credit unions, Amazon.com, and H.E.B.
Grocery chains, retailers, and fast food chains were found to be the top three industries in terms of customer loyalty ratings, earning an average rating of 'strong'. At the bottom of the ratings, TV service providers and internet service providers (ISPs) earned an average rating of 'very weak', although credit card issuers and banks also turned up in six of the bottom nine places in the ratings.
"This research shows that customer loyalty is still up for grabs across many industries," said Bruce Temkin, author of the report and managing partner for Temkin Group.
The industries examined included airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, grocery chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, TV service providers, and wireless carriers. The ratings study examined three key components of loyalty:
- The likelihood of consumers to recommend companies;
- The reluctance of consumers to switch business away from companies;
- The willingness of consumers to purchase additional products and services from companies.
The study also examined how individual companies are perceived relative to their industry peers. For example, USAA had the highest level of loyalty in three industries, outpacing banking and credit card averages by more than 26 percentage points and insurers by 17 percentage points. Nine other companies had double-digit loyalty leadership over their industry averages: Credit unions (banking), Southwest Airlines (airlines), PNC (banking), TriCare (health plans), Apple (computer makers), American Express (credit cards), Sam's Club (retail), Charles Schwab (investments), and Hampton Inn (hotels).
However, nine companies were 15 or more percentage points below their industry loyalty average: DHL (parcel delivery), RadioShack (retail), Citibank (banking), 21st Century (insurance), Bank of America (banking), Days Inn (hotels), HSBC (banking), E-Trade (investments), Charter Communications (TV service).
The report has been made available for purchase directly from Temkin Group's web site - click here.
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