Today consumers leave brands, even those that were they're favorites, and neither discounts nor loyalty programs seems to be stopping them.The biggest reasons that drive consumers to leave brands that they used to love are often not what retailers and brand owners think.Most brands believe that to retain customers they need more advanced technology, celebrity collaborations - or a bigger social media presence.Recent research from leading consulting firms reveals a very different picture.Customer Retention vs. Customer AcquistionIncreasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits from 25-95 percent, according to OutboundEngine. Plus, the success rate of selling to a customer you already have is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is 5-20 percent, according to MarketingMetrics.However, customer retention is not as simple as it used to be, especially in an environment where customers have almost unlimited choices.While people tend to be creatures of habit, the abundance of alternative offers - and the ease of being able to find them - is making it a lot easier for customers to leave one brand for another.“To have a healthy business, retailers need to be able to be relevant to their existing customers while attracting new customers to their stores,” according to Santiago Gallino, a Wharton University professor of operations, information and decisions whose research focuses on retail.People are drawn to brands and become loyal through value, performance, branding and personal ROI.However, poor customer experience is the overwhelming reason consumers leave brands. *sizing, taste, quality “[They are] losing touch with the customer and thinking customers will keep going to a particular retailer because their whole life they had an emotional connection [with it]. They do not understand why the customer is starting to buy other things at different places. And this, over time, erodes the relationship,” said Professor Gallino.The Top Reason Why Consumers Leave BrandsCustomer experience is your customers’ perception of how your company treats them.These perceptions can either drive loyalty - or drive customers away.The customer experience that matters most favours convenience and efficiency coupled with a human element.“Save the bells and whistles. Get the must-do’s right first,” said PwC (Price Waterhouse Cooper).“Prioritize technologies that provide these benefits rather than adopting new technologies for the sake of being cutting edge,” said PwC.“If you’re trying to build brand loyalty today, an emotional connection is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have,” said René Vader, Global Sector Leader, Consumer & Retail, KPMG International.Unfortunately, a growing number of brands focus on the wrong things. They’ll quickly take on things that look cool, collaborate with trendy celebrities and roll out new apps. However, customers care a lot less about this then you do, and many don’t care about it at all.“While many companies focus significant time and money on design that pops or cutting-edge technology to wow customers, these aren’t as essential to the experience equation as many companies believe. Customers expect technology to always work and often don’t take notice of it (unless it’s malfunctioning)”, according to PwC. How Quality Creates Brand LoyaltyWorldwide, consumers are now ranking ‘quality’ as the top reason they remain loyal to a brand, according a KPMG survey.The survey showed that 74 percent of people said that ‘quality inspired brand loyalty’, while ‘product consistency’ (sizing, taste, quality) ranked third with 65 percent saying this was key to their sticking with a brand.In a world where things are increasingly complex and uncertain, quality and consistency can be the antidote that consumers are looking for. Brands that provide customers with a high level of ‘certainty’ (This brand always fits. I can rely on the quality. The styles look good on me) are fulfilling a basic human desire for safety and security. Overlooking this is why consumers leave brands. When that brand integrity breaks down, customers begin to migrate away. Some find other brands that offer the quality they want. Others, unable to find good quality alternatives, opt for whatever is cheapest.The Human Side of Brand Loyalty (why people still matter)Employees can be one of the highest costs for companies, and one of their biggest management challenges.At the same time, they can also be one of your best investments. More than anything, the human side of your business is an area where you can consistently differentiate yourself from your competitors - and build customer relationships and solid brand loyalty.“Human interaction matters now— 75 percent of consumers worldwide want more of it in the future. That makes it crucial that the technology supporting human interaction is unobtrusive and works seamlessly across platforms. Today, 59 percent of all consumers feel companies have lost touch with the human element of customer experience,” according to PwC.Still, most companies spend a lot more time talking about customer relationship than taking the necessary steps to create them.Generally, anything that requires direct interaction with customers is avoided at all costs - even if that cost is brand loyalty. Any excuse is seen as a good reason for avoiding person-to-person contact with customers. “Millennials are digital natives, they don’t want to talk to people,” is a familiar cry from retailers. But talking with Millennials and you’ll find that being able to call a customer service hotline and get someone who cares about you and will help you is highly prized.What matters most to all generations surveyed holds true for Gen Z, too, according to PwC. The difference is that ‘speed’ and ‘knowledge’ are expected, not simply ‘desired’.Just like other age groups, when Gen Z customers feel appreciated, they are more likely to recommend or remain loyal, said PwC."With eight in ten customers saying they'd switch to a competitor due to poor customer service, businesses can't afford not to focus on providing consistent, positive touch points along the entire customer journey," said Paul Jarman, CEO of NICE inContact.An inContact study revealed that speaking to a live person is still the most preferred way to deal with customer service – less than half (45%) of respondents are satisfied with communication through agent-assisted and self-service channels.As businesses today explore and adopt automation technologies to improve contact center operations, they need to consider strategies and solutions where technology can augment human interactions – not replace them – in order to ensure fluidity between channels.