The principal objective of an enterprise is to
create sales as well as sustain the sales tempo. Modern sales strategy is built
around sustainable consumer brand preference, loyalty, and continuous future patronage.
Many large corporations have devised various means to build their brands in the
heart of the consumers, even at times using non-conventional methods.
"Marketing battles take place in the mind of a
consumer or prospect. That's where you win. That's where you lose.” Jack Trout
(2006). This affirms the notion of placing brand messages
directly in the heart of consumers with a view to eliciting positive response. Organizations
have come to the point of seeing the consumer/customer as the pivot around
which the brand is built; recognizing the import of consumer in the daily
battle to create market dominance, and
achieve brand equity. Daryl Travis (2007), states that “You learn that creating customer loyalty is neither strategic nor tactic; rather, it is the ultimate objective and meaning of brand equity. Brand loyalty is brand equity.”
achieve brand equity. Daryl Travis (2007), states that “You learn that creating customer loyalty is neither strategic nor tactic; rather, it is the ultimate objective and meaning of brand equity. Brand loyalty is brand equity.”
However, for the purpose of creating brand
preference, care must be made to understand the right path to thread. As
earlier mentioned, organizations around the world, inclusive of Nigeria, has
continue to spend heavily using various forms not exclusive of media positioning
to achieve this. Many blue chip organizations have invested heavily in direct
marketing, promotional activities, on the line advertising, below the line
advertising, and other forms of brand building activities aimed at building,
and sustaining brand preference.
So, what constitutes brand loyalty? According to
Bloemer and Kasper, brand loyalty implies that consumers bind themselves to
products or services as a result of a deep-seated commitment. To exemplify this
point, they rendered a distinction between repeat purchases and actual brand
loyalty. In their published research, they assert that a repeat purchase
behavior "is the actual re-buying of a brand” whereas loyalty includes
"antecedents” or a reason/fact occurring before the behavior. Bloemer and
Kasper further delineate brand loyalty into "spurious” and "true”
loyalty. Spurious loyalty exhibits the following attributes:
- Biased
- Behavioral response
- Expressed over time
- By some decision-making unit, with respect to one or more alternate brands
- A function of inertia
True brand
loyalty includes the above, but replaces inertia with a psychological process
resulting in brand commitment (Ref: Journal of Economic Psychology,
Volume 16, Issue 2, July 1995).
Follow @Iam_Mtriller
0 comments
Post a Comment