Brand Keys, a research firm devoted to cosumer behavior metrics, just updated its 2011 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, which examines more than 500 big name brands in almost 80 categories.

By using psychological assessments and statistical customer analyses, Brand Keys determines how brands exceed what consumers expect, and how loyal consumers will be to those brands in the future.

Yes, there is an insurance category, with the top performers being pretty much what you'd expect:

New York Life
MetLife
The Hartford
AXA
Travelers
ING
Prudential
Aetna

More interesting from a broader perspective is the Top 20 ranking of a cross-section of brands with the most loyal customers. They are:

Amazon
Apple
Facebook
Samsung (cell phone)
Apple (computer)
Zappos
Hyundai
Kindle
Patron
Mary Kay
Crest Whitestrips
Dunkin' Donuts (coffee)
Walmart
Maybelline
Grey Goose
Google
Ketel One
L'Oreal (hair color)
LG (cell phone)
Twitter

Independent insurance agents can learn a lot from the names on this list. In an industry where customer choice is a live-or-die proposition, it pays to examine the choices and expectations buyers have for non-insurance products–which will invariably transfer to their insurance choices, whether they're commercial or personal.

Looking at the list above, I made the following consumer loyalty assumptions:

1. You don't have to be the biggest to be the best. It's true that many names on the list rely on heavy advertising to promote their products. But that doesn't explain why people surprisingly are more loyal to Dunkin' Donuts coffee over the more heavily branded Starbucks (the Brand Keys study finds even McDonald's coffee beats out Starbucks for customer loyalty, coming in at No. 26 on the index).

2. Performance is the best differentiator. Especially in a category that seems to be a level playing field (commodity selling, anyone?), forget marketing and advertising: what sets you apart for customer loyalty is how well you perform. Crest Whitestrips came in well ahead of the Five Minute Speed Whitening System and Rembrandt Whitening in a field where differentiation is difficult. Not only did they have the Crest brand working for them, but product performance was the final decider.

3. Smart dark horses win races. In a field dominated by household names (CoverGirl, Coty, Revlon, Almay), privately held Mary Kay ranked No. 1 for cosmetics. Maybe it's a combination of a unique distribution model, the product itself, and the pink Cadillacs driven by its top saleswomen–but Mary Kay proves that sometimes being a different dark horse pays off in customer loyalty.

4. Reinvention can be good. Hyundai is the only car brand in the Brand Keys Top 20, especially impressive considering that the brand was once synoymous with “tin can.” The automaker's rebranding efforts from cheap to premium have made a huge difference.

5. Convenience and service render price irrelevant. Zappos' pricing may not be the cheapest, but the online retailer's huge choice and free, almost immediate shipping has built a rabidly loyal consumer base. Agencies can learn a lot from how Zappos leverages product choice and easy online accessibility.

6. There's a lot to be said for tradition. Although Maybelline is owned by L'Oreal, Maybelline came in No. 2 in cosmetics, far ahead of its parent brand. It's a sure bet that the name recognition of this 100-year-old brand is a big driver of its success.

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