Brand relationships : a new approach to branding

Abstract

The idea of brand relationships is neither novel nor outrageous; it is rather the way of thinking about it and the analysis here that shows an innovative process. The human parallel has been used by researchers in the past to show how the buyers differ from the non buyers on their perceived attitude of the brand towards them. This has been referred to as 'Relationship'. However a study in human relationships, indicates that reciprocity of attitude is only one of the factors, influencing a relationship between two persons. This research (with both a qualitative and a quantitative field study) therefore explores the issue by looking into the existence of the rest of the factors and demonstrates that the following are not only present in a consumer - brand relationship but are also important : the Similarity to the other party, the Equity from actions, the Affiliation felt, the Reinforcement received and lastly the Reciprocity of Attitude. On the other hand, Loyalty as a concept has been very poorly defined. A number of diverse definitions are being used, which all tend to be operational due to the apparent lack of a conceptual definition. This can only be compiled when there is a concrete understanding as to what causes loyalty. But then Loyalty, or rather true Loyalty is all about commitment and dedication, and in a human world, commitment is dependent on the strength of the relationship. This research has therefore been exploring the relationships consumers have with brands (they are loyal to), in order to understand if and how this relationship can affect their purchasing patterns and attitudes. This has also led to a conceptual definition of Loyalty since it is shown that this relationship is indeed the cause of Loyalty. In addition to this, a model has arisen which can give a better picture of the segmentation of the customers of a brand, based on the strength of the Relationship and the Repeat purchase pattern. Techniques like Transactional Analysis have been used, demonstrating this need to monitor the interactions and therefore the Relationship of the customers to the brands. This then, allows the brand owners or the marketers to adapt their marketing and corporate strategies in a effort to maintain or increase the size of certain segments in their existing customer base.

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