Brand and Brand Loyalty

Brand and Brand Loyalty

What is a brand?

A distinguishing symbol, mark, logos, name, word, sentence or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others (SlideShare, 2012).

A brand is a name or symbol which identifies a product. A successful brand identifies a product as having sustainable, competitive advantage (McDonald, 1999).

A brand is not just a physical product but a relationship with the customer, a relationship that is personified either by the company’s name or by brand name on the product itself. ICI, IBM, BMW and Shell are examples of company brand names. Persil, Coca – Cola, Foster Lager, Dulux paint and Castrol GTX are examples of product brand names.

Most people are aware of the Coca – Cola/Pepsi – Cola blind taste test in which little difference was perceived when the colas were drunk ‘blind’. On revealing the labels, 65 per cent of consumers claimed to prefer Coca – Cola. Consumers who drunk Coca – Cola on a regular basis (brand loyalty) would be able to differentiate between Coca – Cola and Pepsi Cola (McDonald, 1999).

Brand Loyalty

In Marketing, brand loyalty refers to a consumers’ commitment to repurchase or continue using a particular brand by repeatedly buying a product or service (SlideShare, 2012).

Brand Awareness is the likelihood that consumers recognise the existence and availability of a company’s product or service (SlideShare, 2012).

Brand Equity is the value premium that a company realises from a product with a recognisable name as compared to its generic equivalent. Companies can create brand equity for their product by making them memorable, easily recognisable and superior in quality and reliability. Marketing campaigns can also help to create brand equity (SlideShare, 2012).

How companies build brand loyalty?

There are a number of steps to building brand loyalty:

Step 1 – Focus on your customers

Building your business around your customers – known as brand lovers – instead of aimlessly drive sales. Apple is masterful at creating products especially for customers who love style, creativity and simplicity.

Step 2 – Listen to your customers

Listen to what your customers tell you, don’t be a transaction – making machine. Be a real person to serve your business to real people. Care about your customers and they might care about your business. For example, Southwest Airlines isn't just another airlines to its loyal customers who perceive Southwest as the ‘heart of the sky’.

Step 3 – Understand what makes your customers tick

Learn how customers think, fell and behave towards your brand this will build brand loyalty. Talk to your customers, read their comments about your company and your products on the web, read blog posts and most importantly listen to what your customers are saying.

Step 4 – Determine why your customers choose you

Why are your customers buying from you instead of your competitors? Knowing the answer to that question can define the future of your business and the level of brand loyalty you cultivate. Understand what drives your customer’s choices isn't easy as you need to know what motivates customer’s buying decisions.

Step 5 – Be relentless in giving the best service

Give loyal customers plenty of reasons to stay with you and minimise any reasons for your customers to use other competitors. Push your business, to continually find ways to make your customers’ lives easier and better. Brands like Amazon.com and Netflix are constantly finding ways to enhance the customer experience by refining algorithms to recommend products and movies their customers will enjoy.

Step 6 – Find ways to surprise your customers

Do something extraordinary and unexpected for your customers. Give your customers something worth talking about and word of mouth will happen naturally. For example, online retailer Zappos is masterful at producing the wow factor and providing free, surprise upgrades to overnight delivery, random gifts and hand – written notes to their customers.

Step 7 – Focus on what your brand does best

Be bold and unique, differentiate your brand around your strengths. Ritz Carlton is a hotels of ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. Volkswagen Beetle has built a distinctive brand around a special little car.

Step 8 – Deliver on your brand’s promise

First, determine what your brand stand for, then become relentless in your dedication to deliver on your brand promise each and every day. Harley – Davidson customers love the free of the open road and the brand promises that freedom. Oprah stands for empowerment, hope, and the promise of a better tomorrow.

Source: (The cult branding company, 2013).

In conclusion, brand and brand loyalty is important to gain customers and keep them, the more recognised a brand is, the quality of products and services and the experience a customer gains from your company will keep customers coming back for more. Follow a few simple steps can help to improve a better connection with customers.

References:

McDonald, M. (1999). Marketing Plans (4th ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

SlideShare. (2012). Brand Loyalty. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/jonsut/brand-loyalty-13975898.

The cult branding company. (2013). Eight Steps to Building Brand Loyalty. Retrieved from http://cultbranding.com/ceo/eight-steps-building-brand-loyalty/.