An in-depth look at the latest cutting-edge technologies and strategies to gain and retain customers.

Discover key strategies to foster brand loyalty, improve customer retention, and increase lifetime value through emotional engagement, social features, and reliable support.

Building Brand Loyalty: The Battle to Retain Customers

<div style="font-size:14px;line-height:1;" id="toc">Table of Contents&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#what-is-brand-loyalty">What is Brand Loyalty?</a>&nbsp;<a href="#measuring-lifetime-value-of-brand-loyalty">Measuring the Lifetime Value of Brand Loyalty</a>&nbsp;<a href="#how-companies-improve-brand-loyalty">How Can Companies Improve Brand Loyalty Today?</a>&nbsp;<a href="#social-features-for-brand-loyalty">Social Features for Brand Loyalty</a>&nbsp;<a href="#brand-loyalty-is-build-over-time">Brand Loyalty is Built Over Time: Begin the Process Today</a>&nbsp;<a href="#Get-in-touch">Get in Touch</a>&nbsp;<hr style="margin-bottom:1vw;">There is a commonly held belief that consumers will always opt for the least expensive variety of a particular good for which they are in the market. However, we see this disproven every day in the real world as many consumers ultimately opt for a brand that they feel a sense of loyalty to. This begs the question: Is it possible to foster brand loyalty, and if so, how might one go about doing so?<h2 id="what-is-brand-loyalty">What is Brand Loyalty?</h2>You know the feeling, even if you can’t quite put a finger on it. When it comes to specific products, you have a preference for one particular brand over another. You might not even bother to compare the price of your preferred brand against the price of a competitor. You have fully bought into your brand of choice, and you are unlikely to change your attitude toward that brand ever again.Modern marketing professionals recognise the extreme value of this kind of loyalty and believe they can generate it through <a style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17, 85, 204);" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesagencycouncil/2024/02/16/how-brands-can-drive-emotional-engagement-with-customers/">emotional engagement strategies</a>. If a savvy marketer can pull this off, then they may well have added significant lifetime value to every interaction the brand has with that customer moving forward.&nbsp;<h2 id="measuring-lifetime-value-of-brand-loyalty">Measuring the Lifetime Value of Brand Loyalty</h2>Building brand loyalty among customers requires a significant investment of time, financial resources, and energy. One might reasonably wonder why a company would choose to invest so many resources into this particular goal. As it happens, there are a multitude of reasons why one might measure a customer’s lifetime value, including:<ul><li data-list="bullet">The Connection Between Retention and Lifetime ValueThere is a direct correlation between one’s success with retaining customers and the lifetime value of those customers. This is to say that the better one gets at retaining customers, the higher their lifetime value will be. It is far less expensive and far more profitable for a company to maintain a customer rather than try to go out and find a new one.</li><li data-list="bullet">High Lifetime Value Increases the Odds of Word-of-Mouth AdvertisingWord-of-mouth advertising is the most potent form of advertising known on the planet. Customers who are excited about a product and tell their friends and family about it are offering free advertising. People want to hear about products that they may consider purchasing from those they already trust, and that is precisely what word-of-mouth advertising provides.</li><li data-list="bullet">Higher Customer Satisfaction Leads to Higher Lifetime ValueAnother reason to keep one’s eye on the lifetime value of a given customer is that it directly translates to higher customer satisfaction. The most satisfied customers are those who are most likely to keep coming back and buying more products over time. Thus, the higher the lifetime value, the higher the customer satisfaction.</li></ul><figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:6000/4000;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/efdb4abf-16f9-43e4-a33b-be0e65343077.jpg" alt="Higher Customer Satisfaction Leads to Higher Lifetime Value" width="6000" height="4000"></figure>These are all superb reasons to monitor one’s customers' lifetime value. Improving that lifetime value can add to the bountiful benefits mentioned above.<h2 id="how-companies-improve-brand-loyalty">How Can Companies Improve Brand Loyalty Today?</h2>You can now see the benefits of strong brand loyalty, but you may still be wondering how today’s companies can foster the kind of brand loyalty they seek. What steps can they take to cultivate it that will secure a lasting relationship with the customers they've managed to attract thus far?- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Capturing attentionThink about the brands you prefer to use. What have their platforms offered you? How do they interact? What do you expect from them? What do users tend to seek while using different platforms, especially considering the level of variety in the digital sphere? What catches your attention on a platform, especially if there are several more or less identical platforms on the market offering you the same things—the same content or features?To answer such questions, we need to talk about the connection between the brand and the user. If users watch a film on this platform because it is exclusively available there, that is one case. But if the film is available on many platforms, what forces a viewer to choose this particular platform? If the user tries several similar workout apps, what makes them stick with one?- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;OnboardingPeople who use digital services are more or less digitally savvy. We don’t need a tutorial to find a game on a video platform or to find needed goods in an online store. We don’t need any help or advice on how to use apps... Or do we? Users won’t ask you for help; they will just go to the App Store if your app isn’t clear to them. FAQ is a good instrument, but it is better to postpone interaction until later. Make the experience of discovering your app and its features seamless. If the experience goes smoothly for users, they will come back. Show them what you have, what tools they can use, and say hi. If you are sure that your users are too busy to go through your onboarding, let them skip it—but don’t be too arrogant or ignorant to say at least a few greeting phrases.- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Clear and comfortable UXYou can use JTBD or any other UX strategy, but in any case, your users have to feel good while using your app or website.- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Embedded Live Social FeedsPerhaps you want to share your brand's social media feeds directly on your website. You can do so via a live social feed. In fact, this is often recommended as a great step in the right direction for keeping your customers up to date with the latest happenings within your company.- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Community-building tools such as public and private chatsThe sense of community that can be built with these tools is linked directly to loyalty. If users feel like a part of something live, can discuss their experiences with soulmates, can become experts to share advice or opinions, or can share their thoughts with the brand directly (not just through a tech support ticket), it can be crucial and helpful for your users and your relationships with them.- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Reliant supportIf your users face technical or other negative issues, they need to see that you care: you explain what happened, fix the problem, and do everything to avoid such issues in the future. If you build a strong brand and then just ignore users’ problems, it’s just a waste of money, time, and people’s trust.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:4584/3063;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/0da95520-48e7-45be-a2ce-9ddaab8d8c57.jpg" alt="reliant support is essential to grow retention and build brand loyalty" width="4584" height="3063"></figure>- &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Channels for feedback (and proof that you see and hear it!)&nbsp;These channels can and should be various. Brands that care about their image have to gather feedback from various channels. You can catch posts on TikTok, X, or LinkedIn and reply to them, showing that you care. You can see blog posts or YouTube reviews and be present in the comments. But you should also initiate the feedback flow, not just wait for it. Customer development interviews and focus groups help get early reactions to new content and features. Integrated community chats help a lot because they accumulate the average mood of your users and allow you to stay in constant touch with your audience. If users see that they are heard—not only when they are popular Instagram influencers but just as regular users—they will value it.These are some of the ways that many companies have integrated the use of existing social media accounts to enhance their image with the public. However, there are even more advanced approaches that you should consider as well. What if you could make your website itself a social hub where people gather? That is the latest brand loyalty technique being tested, and it is working extremely well for many different brands.<h2 id="social-features-for-brand-loyalty">Social Features for Brand Loyalty</h2>There are plenty of social features that can easily be integrated into virtually any platform to boost brand loyalty and the amount of time that visitors spend on the platform. Let’s see some of the features that can be considered.<h3>Public and Private Community Chats</h3>People are truly seeking to be brought together. They are seeking a sense of community that is rapidly disappearing due to the growth of competition in all digital spheres. When there was one social network, it was easier to find soulmates. However, via the use of tools such as community chat features, it might be possible to create the bonds of community once again, and it works perfectly because, in this case, people will be gathered based on their personal interests: they communicate here because they all watch the same game or follow tutorials of the same workout trainer.<h3>In-App Live Streaming</h3>Influencers host their streams on Twitch, YouTube, and other relevant platforms. Sometimes, they tell their audiences about your brand and sometimes about your content. Also, while discussing content available on your platform, they may share it on the platforms of your competitors.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:3174/1785;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/a6ff8351-7836-4ad2-a116-bac20c038a69.png" alt="In-app live streaming to maintain customers" width="3174" height="1785"></figure>Instead of this pattern, you can invite influencers and their entire audiences to your platform. In this case, you can expect that people will feel a sense of brand loyalty when they are offered the opportunity to interact with their favourite influencers directly on your platform. You can even build a habit for users to join your platform to watch this popular streamer instead of Twitch.<h3>AI Bots for Real-Time Interactions</h3>Don’t forget to consider investing in AI bots to facilitate real-time conversations with website users. These bots can help answer some simple questions that the users might have, give recommendations for film or fitness platforms, and provide predictions for sports and gaming apps. AI participation is something users expect to see on digital platforms, and the integration of chats with added AI bots can meet users’ needs and connect them with hidden and needed information.<h2 id="brand-loyalty-is-build-over-time">Brand Loyalty is Built Over Time: Begin the Process Today&nbsp;</h2>Building brand loyalty with any customer takes time. However, this process will never happen if you aren’t willing to take the necessary steps. That is why you should develop a strategy for obtaining the brand loyalty you crave and deserve from your customers.<hr style="margin-bottom:0.8vw;"><h2 id="Get-in-touch">Get in Touch</h2><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://calendly.com/watchers-platform/social-tools-for-your">Book a call</a> if you'd like to integrate in-app community chats with the high-level moderation system into your website, app, or game. We'll be happy to help you find the best solution.</div>

Discover how building in-app fitness communities boosts retention and user engagement for workout apps. Learn from top industry examples.

Any app has a big goal: to retain users. If your users try your app and never return, no other big goal will work. Each app has its own mission. For health apps, the mission is to help users stay active and healthy. If users don’t return after trying

Why do fitness and workout apps so crucially need in-app communities?

<div style="font-size:18px;line-height:1;" id="toc">Table of Contents<div style="font-size:14px;line-height:1;" id="toc"><a href="#motivation-gap">The Motivation Gap: What Fitness Apps Lack</a><a href="#Hyper-Socialisation">Hyper-Socialisation: A Natural Fitness Trend</a><a href="#app-features-that-drive-retention">Fitness Communities: App Features that Drive Retention</a><a href="#win-win-of-community">The Win-Win of Community Building in Fitness Apps</a><a href="#get-in-touch">Get in Touch</a><hr>Any app has a big goal: to retain users. If your users try your app and never return, no other major goal will be achieved. Each app has its own mission. For health apps, the mission is to help users stay active and healthy. If users don’t return after trying your app, your mission has failed, as have their goals of becoming healthy with your help.A study by Endeavour Partners reported that more than 70% of health app users stop using the app in two weeks or less. This indicates that only a small percentage of users successfully build a habit with well-being apps, often losing motivation and failing to achieve their goals. This is not the users’ fault—it’s a problem with the app’s development. However, it becomes the users' problem because if an app fails to engage them, they may lose interest in pursuing healthy habits altogether.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:1982/1310;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/fcde8167-a15f-48de-83f0-a01cccf7f393.webp" width="1982" height="1310"></figure><h2 id="motivation-gap">The Motivation Gap: What Fitness Apps Lack</h2>Why does this happen? What discourages users, and what are fitness apps missing? The answer often lies in a lack of motivation and a sense of community.People who give up on health and sports apps need more than an internal drive to improve—they need external motivation. This is especially important for digital products that are easy to postpone or ignore.<h2 id="Hyper-Socialisation">Hyper-Socialisation: A Natural Fitness Trend</h2>Experts are now discussing hyper-socialisation, similar to the hyper-personalisation trend we discussed in<a style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/main-trends-tech-communication-entertainment-2025"> </a><a style="background-color:transparent;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/main-trends-tech-communication-entertainment-2025">our recent article</a>. Hyper-socialisation means that being part of a community is no longer a bonus—it’s a necessity.Users now want to socialise while gaming, cooking, trading, or watching football. Since the beginning, sports and training have been social activities, with gyms serving as places for communication, opinion-sharing, and showing off. You can make friends or rivals, admire local stars, or share tips on staying in shape.During the pandemic, many people switched to home workouts, and although this change offered time and cost savings, it didn’t eliminate the need for socialisation. We still want to share our progress, ask for advice, receive support, and compare results. Hyper-socialisation isn’t just a digital trend—it’s a natural human behaviour.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:2062/1362;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/58784efb-9660-43e2-ba1a-1d0a17aa9a84.webp" width="2062" height="1362"></figure><h2 id="app-features-that-drive-retention">Fitness Communities: App Features that Drive Retention</h2>Let’s look at some features that help build in-app fitness communities, along with examples of apps that use them to drive retention and user satisfaction:Fitocracy transforms workouts into a social game, allowing members to track their progress, follow others’ progress, complete challenges, and earn badges. This basic gamification works because it motivates users to stay active, contributing to both personal growth and app engagement.ChallengeRunner leverages people’s competitive spirit by offering competitions and challenges. Users earn badges that increase their motivation and help them stick to their workout routines—and the app itself.Strava is a popular tracking and community platform for sports enthusiasts. It emphasises community as a core feature, enabling users to share activities, comment on others' posts, and join group activities.Myzone awards points based on calorie burn to indicate progress. Users can also share their metrics and photos, creating a social ecosystem that aims to replace Facebook and Instagram fitness communities.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:872/1262;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/ffce3b1b-38cb-4d8a-afcf-616718ade5fb.webp" width="872" height="1262"></figure>Zwift showcases user stories about milestone achievements. Users can set goals, and the community can follow their progress. This inspires both achievers and others who haven’t yet set goals to get started.Peloton allows official trainers to host live classes, engage with users, provide feedback, and build influencer-style communities within the app.<h2 id="win-win-of-community">The Win-Win of Community Building in Fitness Apps</h2>Building a community within a fitness app is a win-win solution—the app benefits from improved retention, lifetime value (LTV), and other key metrics. Users gain motivation and encouragement, recognition from their peers, and the chance to become influencers themselves. They also receive the support they need to achieve their goals more easily and enjoyably—without relying solely on self-discipline.<hr style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><h2 id="get-in-touch">Get in Touch</h2>Please <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://calendly.com/watchers-platform/social-tools-for-your?month=2025-08">book a call</a> if you'd like to integrate community-based live chat or other social tools into your website or app. We will help you find the best solution for your engagement strategy.</div></div>

Let's look at female sports coverage, and what records and problems are observed in the industry.

What is going on with the coverage of female sports, what new platforms appeared in 2023 for women's sports broadcasting, and what problems in the industry are still waiting to be solved

Anatomy of a rise: What’s going on with female sports broadcasting

<div style="font-size:14px;line-height:1;" id="toc">On this page&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#look-at-numbers">Let’s look at numbers</a>&nbsp;<a href="#problems-to-solve">Problems to solve</a>&nbsp;<a href="#new-possibilities">New possibilities</a>&nbsp;<a href="#get-in-touch">Get in touch</a>&nbsp;<hr style="margin-bottom:1vw;">In 2022, we published <a style="background-color:transparent;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/how-do-women-watch-sports">an article about women's sports and how difficult it was to find where to watch them</a>. Two years have passed, and now we can say that female sports broadcasting has broken records.What particular tournaments are the most popular? What platforms cover these games? Is it really so easy now to watch female sports, or are many problems still waiting for a solution?<h2 id="look-at-numbers">Let’s look at numbers</h2>Wasserman’s report shared that traditionally, before 2019, women’s sports coverage contained not more than 3-5%. In 2019, it increased by 5%. However, the full analysis of 2022 showed a threefold increase, so coverage of female sports through media (including linear TV, video streaming, and social media) was 15% and continued to grow. But we should remember that there were no significant changes in linear TV coverage, and this common growth was provided by streaming platforms and social media that are more flexible to trends than solid and clumsy traditional television.In the USA, women’s basketball is the best-covered female sport, followed by football, tennis, and softball.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1354/1420;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/1df1d30f-b0c2-4b53-b4c2-c9fdc1e0af27.png" width="1354" height="1420"><figcaption>Nike continues to celebrate both female and male sports and athletes equally. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Women’s college volleyball also received huge numbers. The match was streamed on Fox and attracted 1.66 million viewers.The Women's European Football Championship final gathered more than 450 million interactions on social media worldwide and the highest viewing figures on television In Germany in 2022.In 2023, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, broadcast by ESPN, attracted nearly 10 million viewers per game.In 2023, Women's esports tournaments received 28 million hours of viewing, 15% more than a year earlier. Online viewing peaks showed wild growth, increasing from 392.4K to 1.37M viewers. These numbers were set at the final of the 32nd SEA Games Women's Tournament for Mobile Legends, where Bang Bang, Indonesian, and Philippine teams competed.The National Research Group and Ampere Analysis report said that 39% of Gen Zers watch more female sports than they used to.We provided just examples. You can check reports for the last two years and find booms in the popularity of female sports. Interest in them is growing, which influences offers, and the whole industry is starting to bloom. However…<h2 id="problems-to-solve">Problems to solve</h2>However, coverage and an enormous amount of hours don’t mean equality because when male tournaments get prime time slots, female games often go to daytime or nighttime, if we talk about linear TV. Sometimes, it turns up with wins, as in the situation with the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, broadcast by ESPN, the results of which we shared above. ESPN refused to give primetime for this tournament, and the daytime slot on Sundays became extremely watchable with enormous numbers of viewers. However, such a programming approach can create a boundary between games and viewers.Female sports receive more coverage, but not less objectification and sexism directed at women athletes. How does it come out? Through commenting about dresses, spouses, appearances, and chosen camera angles. This attitude was evident in comparison to the Football awards: commentators talked a lot about dresses and looks while female athletes were being awarded, and about sports and competitions while men were on the scene.Also, female athletes are not so visible in sports media despite their huge success. Of course, significant brands partner with athletes, and you can find some of them in ads. They develop their personal brands on social media, but on the one hand, their presence on visible media is much less than that of male athletes. On the other hand, even those athletes who are presented mostly belong to what are called classic feminine athletes, while women who look and behave less traditionally are almost invisible in the wider media.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:1196/1510;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/f956cdb8-c806-475b-bec1-dbb901e79dcf.png" width="1196" height="1510"><figcaption>©Just Women's Sports Instagram account</figcaption></figure>National Research Group and Ampere Analysis found that broadcast networks in the USA spent 0.2% of media-rights budgets on female-only sports events, which returns us to the previous problem. Traditional media, even if they broadcast and cover female tournaments, are still not fully ready to invest in their development and promotion as they do with male sports.<h2 id="new-possibilities">New possibilities</h2>Over the last two years, several promising platforms with female sports content have been launched. Firstly, there is the Women’s Sports Network, the first-ever video platform focusing on female athletes. It offers 24/7 streaming of programming, competitions, documentaries, and other content covering female sports. What’s important is that it is available for free on such services as Freevee by Amazon, Tubi by Fox, FuboTV, and different Smart TVs.The women's European Championship final in Germany was watched by more people than the men's national team matches during the World Cup in Qatar, highlighted Haruka Gruber, Senior Vice President Media DACH at sports streaming channel DAZN, when DAZN launched DAZN Rise, a free platform that broadcasts female sports 24/7.Companies realised that women's sports weren’t as watched as they could be, not because of the lack of interest but because of the absence of opportunities. So, if one of the main problems is going to be solved, maybe others, such as a safe online space, coverage on traditional media, and wide sponsorship, will not stay with us for long.<h2>Get in touch</h2>If you want to enhance broadcasting with real-time communication, using second screens, live chats, polls, and other community-building tools,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/form">connect with us</a>. We will help you&nbsp;find the most suitable solution.<hr style="margin-bottom:1vw;">Sources:32nd SEA Games - Women's Tournament/ Statistics | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://escharts.com/tournaments/mobile-legends/32nd-sea-games-womens-tournament">Esports Charts</a>Objectification in Sport Media: Influences on a Future Women’s Sporting Event | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317240106_Objectification_in_Sport_Media_Influences_on_a_Future_Women%27s_Sporting_Event">International Journal of Sport Communication</a>More U.S. fans paying attention to women's sports, but large gap still exists | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2022/10/26/Sports-in-Society/Female-sports.aspx&nbsp;">Sports Business Journal</a>New study: Women's sports comprise 15% of sports media coverage | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.teamwass.com/news/new-study-womens-sports-comprise-15-of-sports-media-coverage/">Wasserman</a></div>

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