Brand Keys released the results of its customer loyalty index, with research concluding that consumer expectations increase annually on average 25%.

"Trust has become the connective tissue between brands and loyalty," Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, said in a statement. "Expectations for trust are up across all product/service categories and brands an average of 250+% year over year. Meanwhile, customer concerns regarding privacy, security, and brand transparency have reached a tipping point."

Loyalty Generators In The Automotive Category

Top brands customers rated highly at creating emotional engagement and loyalty in the automotive sector are:

Car Rental

1. Avis

2. Enterprise

3. Hertz

4. Budget

5. National

Rideshare

1. Lyft

2. Uber

3. Gett

4. Juno

5. Curb

Gasoline

1. Costco

2. Shell

3. ExxonMobil

4. BP

5. Sunoco

Automobiles

1. Hyundai

2. Toyota

3. GM/Chevrolet

4. Subaru

5. Ford/Jeep

6. Mercedes

7. BMW

8. Lexus / Nissan

Car Insurance

1. USAA

2. Geico

3. The Hartford/Esurance

4. Allstate/Progressive

In 2019, and for the foreseeable future, there are three concrete fiscal realities of loyalty and engagement that marketers should keep in mind:

• It costs 9 to 11 times more to recruit a new customer than to keep an existing one.

• An increase in loyalty of only 7% can lift lifetime profits per customer by as much as 85%.

• Depending upon the sector, an increase in loyalty of just 3% is equivalent to a 10% across-the-board cost reduction program.