Abstract
Brand Loyalty is not a very difficult concept to understand, a person becomes loyal to a brand when he/she is completely satisfied with the performance of the brand. In other words, if a brand meets or exceeds the expectations of a consumer, that consumer in return starts showing loyalty towards that Brand. This paper will throw light upon what Brand loyalty exactly is and why a person becomes loyal towards a brand.
It is very important to focus upon consumer buying behavior when taking into account brand loyalty. Consumer buying behavior depends on certain factors like interest in the product, the intensity to buy the same etc. The factor which matters the most is the interest and the intensity to buy the product. Without the interest and the intensity no consumer can ever become loyal to a brand. It is also important to understand what high involvement products are; high involvement goods are those which are highly prices. These products come with different kind of risks, these risks may be Economic, personal or Social. These are nothing but factors which go on to determine the consumer buying behavior. Consumer behavior includes factors like routine response behavior, extensive decision making, limited decision making and another important thing in this is impulse buying, which refers to the consumer thinking very little about the product and just buying it without giving a good thought about the product. Routine response or program behavior refers to the buying of goods by consumers which are low priced, these constitute as day to day items used by a consumer. For instance the snacks and the soft drinks come under Routine response; these are items consumed by the customer and form the day-to-day items of any consumer. Unfamiliar brand in familiar product category is ought to be understood in order to know the concept of brand loyalty better. In order to know the same better considerate amount of information is required, it basically refers to things which require information in understanding the psychology of the customer, a classic example can be clothes purchased by a customer.
Brand Loyalty
“Brand Loyalty is the consumer’s conscious or unconscious decision, expressed through intention or behavior, to repurchase a brand continually. It occurs because the consumer perceives that the brand offers the right product features, image, or level of quality at the right price. Consumer behavior is habitual because habits are safe and familiar. In order to create brand loyalty, advertisers must break consumer habits, help them acquire new habits, and reinforce those habits by reminding consumers of the value of their purchase and encourage them to continue purchasing those products in the future.” (Brand Loyalty, 2008).
Brand loyalty has become the sole aim of many companies; companies are aiming to make customers loyal to their brands. Brand loyalty focuses upon making more and more people loyal to a particular brand. If this is achieved by a company then the profit margin is ought to go up. This will happen because the people who are loyal will pay even extra money to get their hands on the brand. The satisfaction which the consumers get also plays a vital role in determining how loyal they will be to the brand in the future. If there is no or very little satisfaction then the consumer will not be loyal to the brand on the contrary if the consumer derives lot of satisfaction he/she will surely be loyal to the brand in the future. It is all about satisfying the needs and wants of consumers.
Brand Nike
Brand Nike over the years has made many loyal customers; especially sportsmen usually prefer wearing Nike. The sportsmen find Nike the most satisfying brand and this is why they keep buying the brand “Nike over and over again. “Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports, was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1962. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoemaker Onitsuka Tiger, making most sales at track meets out of Knight’s car.
The company’s profits grew quickly, and in 1966, BRS opened its first retail store, located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the newly designed Swoosh.
The first shoe to carry this design that was sold to the public was a football shoe named “Nike”, which was released in the summer of 1971. In February 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, BRS, Inc. officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc. Beginning with Ilie Nastase, the first professional athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool for the rapidly growing company.” (Nike, 2008).
Nike is undoubtedly one of the biggest sports goods manufacturers. A key strategy of Nike to grow as a brand is marketing. It is extremely important to do marketing in order to develop more and more loyal customers. The company handpicks top athletes to market the various Nike brands. The advertisement plays important role in Marketing; Nike spends a lot of money on advertisement and advertisement is the lifeline of Marketing.
Conclusion
Brand loyalty is the ultimate aim of marketing. The same is very difficult to achieve. A company should try and manufacture a product which satisfies the needs and wants of a customer. It should be a perfect product and these days only a perfect product can make more and more loyal customers hence achieving the goal of Brand loyalty.
References
Brand Loyalty. In Essortment. 2008. Web.
Nike. In Wikipedia. 2008. Web.