Brand loyalty tends to be correlated less with broad demographic segments—such as age or income—and more with product quality and relevant messaging, according to a recent report from StrongView.

The report was based on data from a survey of 2,200 online U.S. adults, 26% of whom were determined to be "brand enthusiasts"—defined as those who say they are likely to recommend preferred brands to friends and who make almost all relevant purchases from those brands now and in the future.

Brand enthusiasts are fairly evenly distributed among age groups and income levels, and they are also nearly evenly split by gender (47% female, 53% male), the analysis found.

Moreover, brand loyalty is not necessarily about price: Less than half (47%) say sales/discounts influence their brand purchases, compared with 80% who say they are influenced by product/service quality.

Below, additional key findings from the report.

The Value of a Brand Enthusiast

• Brand enthusiasts are nearly 4x more likely to spend significant amounts of money on favored brands in the future, and 3x more likely to frequently purchase from those brands.
• Enthusiasts spend 13% more per favored brand purchase on average than other customers.
• Brand enthusiasts are also significantly more likely to purchase based on recommendations from their brands of choice.

Effective Channels

Email was found to be the most effective method for driving action for all adults surveyed, with 51% of brand enthusiasts and 45% on non-enthusiasts reporting that their last purchase of a brand product/service was prompted by email communication.

Consistency and Relevance

Enthusiasts tend to respond to marketing messages when the prompts are consistent and relevant, the analysis found. Respondents say they are more likely to buy from a brand when marketing messages...

• Match expectations of the brand (8.7 average score out of 10)
• Match past interactions with the brand (8.6)
• Are relevant to the their needs (8.6)
• Are received at the right time (8.4)
• Are useful in aiding the decision to buy (8.4)

Social Media

• 44% of brand enthusiasts have already liked a favored brand on Facebook; 20% have followed a favored brand on Twitter.
• 39% of brand enthusiasts have recommended a favored product/service via social media.
• Enthusiasts are 2x more likely to report complaining about a brand on social media.

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey conducted between March and April 2014 of 2,200 online US adults.