We live in an age of distraction, disassociation, and never-ending notifications. The thought of engaging potential customers to take part in an established company can seem like a daunting task.

Now the question is: what truly makes a company stand out amidst all of the noise and distractions?

As Generation Z enters the workforce, true engagement in companies begins with the journey of weeding through the distractions and putting first things first.

Cultivating a community of loyal consumers and employees is necessary to keep the workplace an engaging and healthy environment.

Consumer Loyalty Intersecting with Modern Times

Customer loyalty can be demonstrated in forms, such as loyalty to an author, a certain food, or a clothing brand. The companies that you engage with desire to have employees who cultivate an environment that fosters true loyalty within their consumer base (Paharia, 2013).

When you look at your work place, does it foster community and cooperation, or does it rattle with competition?

You probably remember stepping onto a plane and being bombarded with ads for frequent flyer programs or credit cards with cash-back rewards. Unfortunately, these rewards programs have failed to keep up with the continuously changing environment of social media.

As you observe the elements of human behavior in the workplace, motivation drives human loyalty to everything in our environment.

Understanding the Hierarchy of Consumer Loyalty

We love to identify with brands and companies that have been tried and true for ages. Maybe all of your tech devices are made by apple, or their is a clothing brand that you just cannot seem to stray away from.

Apple especially, is a prime example of fostering “Cult loyalty” within a company. Straying from Apple products could make you feel as if you are rejecting your own true values (Pahria, 2013). Developing true customer loyalty to a company cannot be forced; loyalty is something that is fostered over time.

E-commerce has taken over the market, and I am sure that many of your purchases are solely made online. Recently, It has been a large focus for companies to encourage online customers to repeat their purchases. Loyalty programs, points, and special offers can increase the motivation that you may have to repeat one of your previous purchases.

At their core, loyalty programs spring from the perfect combination of brands offering benefits to customers for purchases and interactions, and consumers seeing value in those benefits. 

Employees can foster a deep, abiding community within a company that can skyrocket customer loyalty from flaky engagement to true recognition of a brand’s values.

Engagement in an Age of Disengagement

The thought of getting another notification might make you want to put your phone a box and lock it away for years.

Distraction follows us everywhere, and this is the world that must be navigated when engaging employees. Many companies repeat work structures that cause employees to feel overworked and under appreciated.

Social media has become the primary face for companies, especially among Generation Z. Consumers and employees base their opinion of a company on the words that are being said across social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

Company values get blurred in the noise of social media, tasks become overwhelming, and employees lose the vision for the work that they are engaging with. I am sure that you have felt this overwhelm with the instability of the technological world.

Prioritizing employee well-being and aligning employee desires with the core values of a company can re-establish the motivation that employees need to work efficiently. Employees need to feel seen and heard to see the purpose in their work. This is crucial in a world where anything can take priority over professional work if we let it.

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Let’s reestablish a sense of community within our workforce by engaging employees that value authenticity and transparency within a company.

Customer loyalty, along with motivation and an emphasis on company values, can lead to a healthier engagement rate among employees.

Understanding true loyalty and the rationale behind employee motivation can lead to a breakthrough in the mindset from which employees approach their work, and companies can continue to thrive amidst an ever changing world.

Citations

Alviere. (2023, August 18). Forbes: Overcoming the “sea of sameness” in loyalty programs. Alviere. https://alviere.com/learn/articles/overcoming-the-sea-of-sameness-in-loyalty-programs/

HR Cloud. (2025, June 13). What are the levels of employee engagement. HR Cloud Blog. https://www.hrcloud.com/blog/what-are-the-levels-of-employee-engagement

Paharia, R. (2013). Loyalty 3.0: How to revolutionize customer and employee engagement with big data and gamification. McGraw-Hill.