Brand Loyalty Defined by Professor Peter Doyle - Essay Example

Brand Loyalty has five advantages; 1-profit, 2-reduction of new customer acquisition costs, 3-word of mouth helps marketing, 4-customer willingness to pay higher prices, and 5-higher Brand Loyalty results in higher market shares. The importance of Brand Loyalty is the same as the advantages. Brand Loyalty reduces price sensitivity for the consumer. If a consumer trusts a Brand, they are willing to pay more for a product. Loyal consumers will also recommend Brands to other people saving marketing costs.
Brand Loyalty increases profits while providing competitive advantages for successful brands. Brand Loyalty inspires trust in consumers, raises market shares, and increases profits for the company marketing the Brand.

Brand Loyalty does not have set measurability. A few variables to measure Brand Loyalty are brand preference and attitude toward the brand. Different Brand manufacturers use different measurements. The measurement of Brand Loyalty is important because managers must cope with disloyalty among customers and predict Brand Loyalty.
There are six strategic Branding decisions corporations must make; 1-Brand context, 2-Brand construction, 3-Brand confirmation, 4-Brand consistency, 5-Brand continuity, and 6-Brand conditioning. After establishing these six strategic Branding decisions, Long Term strategic advantages for building Brand Loyalty are 1-improvement on the return of all investment made in the brand, 2-maximizing Brand growth potential, and 3-protecting the brand against consumer “disloyalty” triggers. There are four “disloyalty” triggers; 1-peer recommendations to try different Brands, 2-new products, 3- perceived shift in the price-value relationship of the Brand/competitive Brand, and 4-strong competition advertising. Long-term strategic disadvantages include a lack of understanding of what the Brand stands for, inadequate funding/research, and private label threats. Short Term Branding challenges are 1-senior management's short-term focus (i.e. misplaced incentives and funding) 2-profitability requirements, 3-lack of resources and/or funding, 4-keeping up with the competition, and 5-poor internal communication of goals and plans.

Asset management for Brands can help avoid risks. If a Brand is treated like an asset, it is easier to protect the Brand. To adopt asset management for a Brand, a company must; 1-developing a Brand picture, or what the company wants its Brand to be, 2-understanding Brand persona, or understanding what a company’s Brand’s good and bad points are, 3-Brand Life Strategy, or strategies in growing current Brands, extending current Brands, and creating new Brands, 4-measuring ROBI, or the measurement of Return on Brand Initiatives.
Long Term and Short Term goals for Branding are successful. Long Term Branding is better for the future of the product, whereas Short Term Branding is good for getting a product to sell in the present. Long Term strategies involve more detailed planning, so future success is more likely. Successful Long Term Branding strategies also ask the following questions. What are the long-term implications of your branding strategy? Where are we going to be in our years with that product brand? Where are we now? What is the current situation in the market? What is the position of competitors? Where do we want to be? How do we get there?
Bonuses are effective for achieving Branding success. Promotions, salary increases, and stock options as Bonuses are viewed favorably. Repurchasing due to bonuses is greater in better-known companies, lesser-known companies do not benefit from promotions as well. Too many promotions can reduce Brand Loyalty, hurting the Brand.
Brands come under five categories. The first is umbrella branding, like the Kellog Brand. The second is a Range Brand, like Share wood. The third is an Individual Brand, like Proctor & Gamble. The fourth is the Company Brand, like Mercedes Benz. The last is Leveraging Brand or Brand Extension, like Kodak’s Phantom film.
Brand extension is debatable. The pro side of Brand extension is the sub-Brand receives an amount of loyalty because of the parent Brand. The drawback of Brand extension is possible buyer shift to the cheaper sub-brand version; the second is the risk that extending the brand down will taint the brand name.
Increasing Brand Loyalty in the hospitality industry is made up of total consistency in branding from the production process to the marketing of the final product/service. An example of this module is McDonald’s. Employees have a major role at McDonald’s in the process of the Brand by conveying the Brand message; thus becoming the Brand reality. Another strong point of the McDonald’s Brand is the strong marketing tactics.
Budweiser and Pampers are among the brands that recognize Brand equity will not support a large price premium against price-oriented competitors and powerful retailers. This asset management increases Budweiser and Pamper's profits.
Brand Loyalty is an important marketing tool. When a company has a Brand Loyalty strategy, they are more likely to succeed.