Studying Brand Loyalty pattern....an understanding

There are two end results expected out of the study – measuring loyalty across the three product categories (Consumer durables:cellphones, services:Cellular & courier, and FMCG: Soaps & Shampoo)and learning how to measure it.
Acker says,"The brand loyalty of the customer base is often the core of a brand’s equity. If customers are indifferent to the brand and, in fact, buy with respect to features, price and convenience with little concern to brand name, the brand needs to reassess its stand. It’s not a good sign for the brand equity. If, on the other hand, they continue to purchase the brand even in the face of competitors with superior features, price, and convenience, substantial value exist in the brand."

Well said. So, what are the reasons that make the customer buy and re-buy again and again the same brand? What do they expect? What things they like about the brand? What could be the factors that may create a cognitive dissonance in the customers’ minds and how the brand’s approach should be to decrease that dissonance? What creates that attachment? All these broadly stated questions are to be answered in order to get a wide picture of the brand loyalty. But we need to keep one thing in mind that even if there are some common reasons, factors & answers to these questions, these brand loyalty patterns will, in most cases, vary from product to product and category to category.

Brand loyalty is qualitatively different from other major dimensions of brand equity in that it is tied more closely to the use experience. Many of the customers even don’t know that they are loyal to a brand but they even don’t want to know what other brands are available. They buy the same brand again and again sub or unconsciously. We can see what wonders loyalty can do. Remember one ad of Eveready prompting people by saying – “Give Me Red”. Doesn’t it prompt you also to say that line once? If yes, the job of marketer is done. Now it’s the use experience that will do the rest of the job for creating loyalty.

Moving on these grounds the findings of the study are as follows:

Consumer Durables (cell phones)
Type of Loyalty found – Mostly Habitual buyers and few Committed.
Major Reasons of loyalty – Great features, good functionality.

Services
Type of Loyalty found – Switchers, Habitual Buyers
Major Reasons of loyalty – Better network coverage, connectivity, good offers, & customer care.

FMCG goods
Type of Loyalty found – Habitual Buyers (no reason to change) > Satisfied,(with switching cost) > committed
Major Reasons of loyalty – Extensive ad campaign, easy availability, Functional benefits, match with the aspiration.


I am not giving the detailed findings now. But there was a lot to learn from the exercise.

Trying to make my learning curve steeper............will get back again with more learnings.......

What have you learnt, stupid??

Another day of learning...meeting for Chanakya (my college magazine) teaches me a lesson (both hard and soft) always. Many a times the learning is reinforced. You should have standardized processes there on the table. No matter what happens, you should follow them.
I love Chanakya. Then why do I think that it's slipping away from my hands? Is that 'love' the reason behind that? Possibly yes. Love always runs away from you. Then what should I do? Shall I stop loving Chanakya? If that doesn't work, then? What will happen to my Chanakya?
Wish I could take full responsibility of Chanakya. Right now I can't. Studies don't let me do that. Otherwise I would've endeavored to make Chanakya a successful magazine.
I think now I should put that standardized process in place instead of writing my thoughts on my blog.

What a brand does to you??

While finding out answers to the questions struck in my mind during brand night, I feel that branding is becoming my passion and the love for it is even increasing day by day.
We talk about product benefits and added values. We talk about brand personality, image and attitude. What all we have to do to place all these stuffs into the customers’ mind space? Selection of right segment is necessary, but the real job starts after that.
Why should I target a teenage and not a 25 yr guy when both may come under youth segment? Why an upper class and not middle class guy? The deeper you go, the closer you come to the consumer. The ultimate lies in the behavior and lifestyle of the consumer. Here only product attributes and benefits don’t work. One of the most important things is how the communication is positioning brand’s image in his mind space. The message of the communication relates to the consumer behavior possessed by the target customer. It creates an attitude in customers’ minds when the customer is able to associate (that behavior) with the brand. This is brand attitude.
But mere attitude is not enough. All goes in vain if the attitude doesn’t result in purchase (behavior) of the brand. Behavior is the outcome of its consequences. Purchase will take place if and only if the Brand (which is a perception created in customers’ minds through communication) becomes a connection/linkage between attitude and behavior of the customer. None wants dissonance in what one says and what one does. If the brand reduces that dissonance, the brand becomes stronger and the probability of repeat purchase increases. In other terms, customer moves towards becoming a Brand Loyal (knowingly or unknowingly).

Brand Night...a rare experience...

On 25the July, I attended my first Brand Night. You might be thinking what it is. Brand Night is the event (initiated by our marketing Prof. S. Anantram) where everyone, who is loyal to any brand, expresses his feelings, cherishing moments, love, affection, and experience with his brand. Not only this, the loyalty has to be shown by reflecting the Brand’s personality in you by dressing up in that manner. In simple terms, we had to reflect – “If my brand were a person, how it would have been”.

The scene at the venue was unprecedented. There were logos on faces, chests, backs, hands, and legs. Everyone was so excited while showing his loyalty for his brand that when someone said – “Boost is the secret of my energy”, another Brand loyal of Kingfisher Beer (pointing to the kingfisher logo on his chest) said – “Mine is this, not boost.” There were brand loyals for Dove, Maggi, Closeup, Nivea, Lo’real, Goldflake lite and you name it. The atmosphere at the event was blazing, dazzling, and blatant.

I would call it the show of ‘power of brands’. I got to think about many insights. How does a customer perceive a brand? How does he respond to the communications of the brand? Companies spend billion dollars on studies to know this but they hardly get to know what exactly is there in customers’ mind. Sometimes the customer can be crazy for the brand for a very silly reason that the academic jokers can never think of.

What makes a customer loyal for a brand? Does that reason remain the same for a large number of customers? Can that reason be extended to the overall product class that the brand belongs to? These are some of the questions that, if answered, might prove to be very helpful in getting Brand Insights.

Where I stand now and where I will be for next 45-60 days

Today I reached Chennai, which instantly has become my Karmabhoomi coz I am going to have a First hand experience of process and people in a dream company like JWT. Known as one of the leading Advertising firms, it is the place where I aspired to reach as an intern when I was completing my 1st term of MBA. I literally worked like devil to be here. And now when I am here I thank god for these next 60 days that I'll be spending with creative and crazy people of JWT. To day itself I couldn't stop myself and went to see the office. It was more beautiful than I imagined. I could smell the joy & fun the atmosphere must be creating for providing a heaven's place to work. Now I wish to be a part of it. It is more but I wanna have more!!!

Chrysler - Fiat strategic alliance

Few days back I received a mail from my OSPD prof. Nagendra sir on this strategic alliance, which was published in 'Business Week'.
Many experts said that the bailout, the companies have got, wasn't sufficient. I accept that $4bn bailout package given to Chrysler isn't sufficient. But the company itself is responsible for its condition. The US govt. is giving huge amount of money to these companies because these companies (GM, Chrysler, Ford) have acquired such a massive size that US economy relies on their success (blindly). To save thousands of people from being unemployed, US govt. is bound to take this step. But it is a big game that is played among various companies, big or small. It should be left upon them how they strategies their game and how well they play it. If big companies fail, small companies on the other hand get something (opportunity, profit whatever you say). Let the game be fair and just for all. otherwise save small companies too. Everyone knows how much the senior officials (even presidents and CEOs) spent their time standing outside the office of US president, or higher govt authorities and congressmen and lobbied to get bailout. Small companies cannot do this. I think govt should not have interfered.
Now one major benefit I could understand from this strategic alliance is the Distribution Network that both the companies will get in eachother's countries and also in those places where they have their stable foot. but what 'Complementary benefit' both of them will get as was said by Bob Nardelli, Chairman & CEO, Chrysler, I am not able to understand. Both are car manufacturers. both use new technology. Being in contact with German manufacturer Daimler-Benz, Chrysler might have learnt German technology (which itself is a brand). One, of small use benefit Fiat can get, is access to Chrysler's superb jeeps & minivan models. But there is no such thing as complementary in that.
Let us see what will come out of this deal. A Diamond or a black Diamond....

What I do...

As a student of MBA you have to develop interest in either of marketing, finance, HR, operations etc. So i also had to. i am interested in marketing as of now. Thanks god i am now sure of my field for specialization for 4th term otherwise earlier I was confused b/w marketing and finance. I always get good marks in both. My selection for Summer Training in JWT (eventually world's 4th largest ad agency),Chennai has also influenced my decision to choose Marketing as specialization.
By the way, now a days I am busy with lot of stuffs like reading 'Ogilvy on advertising", mulling over systems & structure, searching for a good topic to write a research on marketing, collecting articles for our In-house management magazine 'The Chanakya'(being the co-editor of it) and our college's Anuual rural marketing fair.
It is a 3 day annual Rural Marketing Fair called as 'Pragati'. It will take place in mid Feb (15,16 & 17). we have divided our batch of 82 in teams such as Prospecting (selling stalls to shop owners & showrooms), culturals (selling sponsorships of events, ads, banners), finance (reimbursement to students and costing) etc. It is a great fun & learning to sell non-existing products and space in market. Sometimes people misbehave with you & you have to keep smiling. It is different and is something what we call as 'experiential Learning'.