Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, but for marketing and insights professionals, the love between a customer and a brand should be present all year round. Today, building loyal customer relationships is increasingly challenging; it requires effort, patience, and empathy. “Love at first sight” may be a fairytale and few consumers commit to a brand until death do them part, but those companies that forge deeply emotional bonds and align with consumer values gain a competitive edge.

Therefore, professionals striving to foster customer love must understand consumers holistically by answering questions like “What are consumers naturally most passionate about?” “Where are consumers engaging when not with my brand?” and “How do current lifestyles create opportunities to connect with new customers?”

My latest report, which blends Forrester’s Consumer Technographics® survey, behavioral, qualitative, and social listening data, reveals that US consumers who prioritize their health have a distinct attitude that sparks broader lifestyle choices. “Health-conscious” is not just a descriptor; it is also a driver, as consumer commitment to health stems from a deep need for self-improvement. 

This data offers an outside-in view of health-conscious online adults and identifies their unique lifestyle characteristics and needs. Brands that address these needs through customized, relevant, and emotional marketing content and customer experience tug at customers’ heart strings.

Loyal relationships may be hard, but they are not impossible. In fact, in his recent report, my colleague James McQuivey says that “consumers are ready for the relationships of their lives” with one another and with the brands they enjoy. Brands can’t afford to leave their customers’ love unrequited: Instead, they must build “the ultimate lifestyle-enhancing relationship [by] inserting themselves into consumers’ daily routines with services targeting specific emotional, physical, or social needs.”