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2.3.2.1.
Brand Loyalty
Brand
loyalty
is a measure of the attachment that a customer has to a brand. It
reflects
how
likely
a
customer
will
be
to
switch to another brand, especially when a
brand makes a change, either in price or in product features. As brand loyalty
increases, the vulnerability of the customer base to competitive action is reduced. It is
one indicator of brand equity which is demonstrably linked to future profits, since
brand loyalty directly translates into future sales.
The
approaches
are
based
upon
the
loyalty constructs
of
behavior
measures,
switching costs, satisfaction, liking, and commitment:
A
direct
way
to
determine
loyalty,
especially
habitual
behavior,
is
to
consider
actual purchase patterns. Among the measures that can be used are repurchase
rates, percent of purchases, number of brands purchased. But it may be
inconvenient
or
expensive
to
obtain,
and provides only limited diagnostics about
the future
An analysis of switching costs can provide insight into the extent to which
switching costs provide a basis
for brand
loyalty. If
it
is
very
expensive or risky
for
a
firm
or
a
consumer
to
change
suppliers,
then
the
attribution
rate
from
the
customer base will be lower
A
key
diagnostic
to
every
level
of
brand
loyalty
is
the
measurement of
satisfaction. A key premise of the second and third levels of loyalty is that the
dissatisfaction
is absent or
low enough
to avoid precipitating a decision to switch.
It’s
important
that
any
measure
of
satisfaction
be
current,
representative,
and
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