1.0 Executive Summary
Enhancing brand loyalty has become a major concern to many business organizations. Developing brand love by improving customer satisfaction is one of the strategies that most companies use to enhance brand loyalty. Consumers tend to develop intimacy, commitment, and passion for various brands of products, which forms the basis for brand love (Sternberg, 1986, p. 126). Brand loyalty has significant impacts on the marketability of a product. The determination of consumers’ attitude towards a particular brand helps in the formulation of strategies intended to stimulate improvements. High level of customer satisfaction often results in strong relationship with brands, leading to improvements in brand loyalty. Various theories have been used to explain the idea of brand love. One of such theories is the Sternberg’s triangular theory of interpersonal relationship, which explains brand love in terms of customer relationship with product brands. Lovemarks theory suggests that consumers tend to have strong emotions with products that yield high utility to them. Thus, they develop a love for those brands that have the highest capacities to satisfy their needs.
2.0 Introduction
The idea of brand love is applied in many companies to enhance brand loyalty. In most international companies that supply the global market, brand love is a key objective. Successful business organizations like Apple engage in various activities that help them to gather information they use in improving customers’ loyalty to their products. Customer satisfaction is no longer the only reason for consuming a product; there are other products’ characteristics that make that them attractive to customers such the ability to meet the emotional needs of consumers (Rundle-Thiele and Bennett, 2001). Therefore, identifying a product brand with a high level of emotional influence is essential to the manager (Ha and Perks, 2005, p. 443). Consumers tend to develop a strong relationship with products which they believe have the capacity to yield sustained satisfaction to them. Thus, the concept of brand love finds root in the fact that consumers develop a strong brand relationship based on the power of the product to meet their requirements sustainably. As the Sternberg’s triangular theory states, brand love can be measured in terms of the level of intimacy as well as the commitment to the consumption of the product (Sternberg, 1996, p. 118). Consumers’ passion for a particular brand of product is also used as an indicator of their preference for that brand (Sternberg, 1996, p. 118). Marketers apply the concept of brand love to inculcate brand loyalty on different customers through various promotional activities. Various theories such as Sternberg’s triangular theory and Lovemarks theory have been put forward to help in the evaluation of the concept of brand love. In this report, the concept of brand love will be evaluated in relation to its application in customer loyalty enhancement. The report will also use three organizations to demonstrate the application of brand love and how theories of brand love apply to these organizations.
3.0 Main Body
3.1 The concept of brand love and its application to customer loyalty improvement
Marketing is an essential role in any business organization. The effectiveness of a marketing system depends on the strategies used. Also, the consumer behavior study is relevant to the understanding of consumer –brand relationship that helps to improve their loyalty to the brand (Bloemer & Kasper, 1995, p. 318). Brand loyalty results from consumers’ consistency in the purchase of a product from the same company. Ha and Perks, (2005, p. 446) postulated that brand satisfaction is the lowest strength of the relationship that consumers can have. As the degree of consumer-brand relationship intensifies, the customer satisfaction with a particular brand grows, resulting in strong brand loyalty. Research by Fournier and Yao confirms that brand love results in the development of brand trust which consequently leads to brand loyalty (Fournier and Yao, 1997, p. 463).
According to Miniard et al., (1983, p. 206), brand love has positive influences on brand loyalty. The major concerns of marketing includes how to predict the power and purchasing intention of consumers accurately. Customers’ attitude toward a newly established brand in the market is significant as far as marketability of new brand is concerned. Brand love can be used to measure the strength of consumer relationship with a brand. A strong brand relationship indicates a high level of satisfaction and can be used to determine consumers’ willingness to purchase the new brand (Aaker, 1996, p. 53). High level of customer satisfaction results in improved brand loyalty. Therefore, the idea of brand love is used to enhance brand loyalty since the two are positively related (Miniard et al., 1983, p. 206).
The development of love to a particular brand of the product influences the consuming culture of consumers. A strong brand love helps to improve the brand image in the market. According to research by Roberts and Lafley (2004), there exist a strong relationship between brand image and consumer’s culture. A strong consuming culture helps to promote the customer-brand relationship and brand love (Sarkar, 2011 p. 83). A strong brand love enhances the growth of brand loyalty among consumers. Therefore, marketers can target to strengthen brand love by improving consumers’ culture which will in turn enhance the customer-brand relationship, resulting in a significant improvement in brand loyalty.
The love for a brand results in customers’ delight to the brand which helps to develop strong emotional linkage with the product (Kumar, 1996). The customers’ delight is usually caused by high levels of satisfaction from the consumption of the product. Additionally, consumers form a strong intimacy with brands and great commitment towards purchase and consumption, which guarantees the company a significant market share and broad customer base in long run. According to Sternberg’s theory, consumers tend to develop a parasocial relationship with brands that yield sustained satisfaction (Sternberg, 1986, p. 138). Customer satisfaction promotes the marketers’ confidence in the brand as well as brand love. Therefore, marketers can improve brand loyalty by enhancing customer delight to the brand which promotes the brand love.
The degree of love for a brand can be used in measuring the strength of inters- relationship between customers and the brand. According to Stenberg’s theory, the development of the relationship between consumers and the brand results in the formation of norms that guide consumers in assessing the new brand to determine brand’s satisfaction capacity (Sternberg’s, 1986, p. 208). The assessment of brand helps to develop strong brand love, particularly if the brand has high satisfaction capacity. As a result, consumers tend to develop loyalty to the brand which promotes the market share and competitive power of a business organization.
3.2 Application of theory of brand love in Adidas Company
Adidas is a multinational company with franchises in different countries. The company establishes headquarters in various countries such as Germany, United States, and China (The adidas method, 2013). Mainly, Adidas deals with the production of leather products and supply to the global market. Through the development of effective marketing strategies that primarily focus on brand image, the company has been able to control a large share of world market. The company uses robust advertising methods that make its products gain global recognition and strong brand loyalty.
The marketing strategies and type of brand loyalty established in Adidas products are very consistent with the Sternberg’s triangular theory of brand love. Consumers of Adidas products tend to have a strong interpersonal relationship with the various brands of leather products. Additionally, the production methods used guarantee the quality of the products which help to build consumers confidence in products resulting in sustained consumers’ intention to purchase the company’s products.
Adidas recognizes the basis of consumers’ decisions to buy its products. According to lovemarks theory, consumers gain inspiration from various qualities of products, and they base their purchasing decisions on these qualities (Roberts and Lafley, 2004, p. 173). Most importantly, customers tend to strengthen their loyalty to the products on the basis of their level of utility. The foundation of love for Adidas brands is the quality as well as their level of customer satisfaction (The adidas method, 2013).
The level of familiarity of products to the customers has a considerable impact on the tendency of consumers to remain loyal to the products (Szmigin, 2004, p. 69). Customers tend to develop a strong preference for the products they are familiar with and are hardly convinced to adopt new brands. Adidas products are very familiar to many consumers across the world since they have been to the market for a long time. Moreover, the company adjusts its marketing strategies and products brand to align its products with the changing needs of the market. According to interpersonal relationship theory, the brand should consistently satisfy the consumers’ needs to make them develop a strong sense of love (Sternberg, 1986, p. 126).
Products diversification is a strategy that many firms use to help them withstand market competitions. Also, diversification strategy is used to enhance customers’ satisfaction through the supply of different brands of products (Szmigin, 2004, p. 71). Theories of brand love hinge on the principle of consumer relationship with the product which depends on the level of customer satisfaction from the consumption of the products. Adidas adopts various diversification strategies which aim at supplying new brands of products as well as developing a wider market for its products. As a result, the Adidas has been able to maintain a significant market share, favorable competitive position, and strong brand love. Consequently, the customers’ purchase intentions have grown in favor of products from Adidas, resulting in a high brand loyalty.
3.3 Application of theory of brand love in Apple Company
Apple is a multinational company with headquarters in California which deals with the design, development, and sale of electronics, mobile communication, and online services. The company serves the global market with various brands of products and services; hence, it has customers from different countries of the world. However, Apple does not operate as a monopoly in the manufacture of electronics and computer software. Therefore, the company faces market competition which calls for effective marketing strategies that will promote brand love and loyalty and help to improve the competitive advantage of the company.
Brand love relates to the feeling of emotions that consumers develop towards a product. According to Sternberg’s theory, consumers with a strong sense of emotions tend to have great confidence in the company’s product if the product yields high utility (Sternberg, 1986, p 147). Marketers in apple conduct research to determine consumers’ feelings about their products. Through the analysis of information obtained, marketers can identify areas that need improvement. Additionally, the data from market research shows the strength of consumers’ love for various brands of products that the company supplies to the market. As such, the company can estimate the extent of brand loyalty for its products from consumers’ feedback.
The use of internet marketing forums such as Twitter and Facebook enable companies to familiarize their products with customers (Raj, 1985). Apple uses various forms of internet marketing which give consumers opportunities to discuss its products and share their experiences with the products. Through their discussions, customers express their feelings about the products which help the company to determine the magnitude of brand love. According to Sternberg’s theory, consumers’ expressions through the word of mouth have a positive influence on the brand loyalty (Sternberg, 1986). Thus, companies’ linkages with customers through internet marketing enable them to strengthen consumers’ love for the product and consequently brand loyalty.
3.4 Application of theories of brand love in Toyota Company
Toyota is among the successful motor companies in the world. Its success on the domestic market in Japan, as well as the global market, is due to the quality of the products the company manufactures which have influenced consumers resulting in high supremacy of the company in the world market. The company engages in continuous market research to obtain relevant information from customers regarding its products. Thus, it has been able to improve the quality of motor products to address the customers’ needs in full. The high satisfaction level in consumers has led to great confidence in motor products from the Toyota Company, resulting in the development of increasing brand loyalty among consumers (Zaw and Chaipoopirutana, 2014).
Toyota faces competition from other motor companies such as the U.S. producers. As such, the company must develop efficient marketing strategies to command as large market share as possible and improve the popularity of its products. Toyota uses a strategy known as KAIZEN, which aims at improving the quality of its products to the highest possible level (Zaw and Chaipoopirutana, 2014). According to Sternberg’s interpersonal relationship theory, the quality of products is essential as far as customer satisfaction is concerned (Sternberg, 1986, p. 128). Thus, the company targets to achieve the highest possible quality level for its products which results in improvement in competitiveness, consumer-brand relation, and strong brand love.
Sternberg’s triangular theory of interpersonal relationship suggests that the customers’ purchasing intentions are influenced by the quality as well as the reliability of a company’s products in the market. Additionally, consumers’ commitment as well as passion has a significant contribution to their decisions to purchase products from a particular company (Sternberg’s, 1986, p. 119). The strong commitment and intimacy that consumers develop toward Toyota products have led to improvement in brand love which has resulted in strong brand loyalty.
Lovemarks theory postulates that products’ appeal to customers’ emotions is fundamental to the development of brand love (Roberts and Lafley, 2004, p. 158). Marketers in most companies adopt marketing strategies that draw customers’ attention to their products and make the products more appealing. Products with high customer attention tend to have a stable market. Lovemarks theory finds a lot of applications in Toyota Company through various strategies that the company adopts to enhance customer satisfaction with different brands of products. High level of customer satisfaction results in improvement in brand loyalty which is the uppermost objective of the company (Roberts and Lafley, 2004, p. 259).
4.0 Conclusion
Brand love is an essential determinant of the marketability of a company’s products. An intense love for a product results in high demand which enhances the market share of the company and its competitive position. Brand love is a component of customer satisfaction which is expressed through consistent purchase and consumption of the product. As suggested in Sternberg’s theory of interpersonal relationship, high level of customer satisfaction results in a strong consumer- brand relationship, leading to the development of brand love. Customers’ loyalty to different brands of products results from brand love. Various companies such as Apple, Adidas, McDonalds, Toyota, and Coca-Cola have demonstrated the applicability of brand love in marketing situations. A strong love for a particular brand enhances customers’ loyalty. Therefore, companies should emphasize on brand loyalty and adopt strategies that will help in improving customers’ love for their brands.
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