Brand loyalty
In marketing, brand loyalty describes a consumer's positive feelings towards a brand and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions, or changes in the environment. It can also be demonstrated with other behaviors such as positive word-of-mouth advocacy.[1] Corporate brand loyalty is where an individual buys products from the same manufacturer repeatedly and without wavering, rather than from other suppliers.[2] Loyalty implies dedication and should not be confused with habit, its less-than-emotional engagement and commitment. Businesses whose financial and ethical values (for example, ESG responsibilities) rest in large part on their brand loyalty are said to use the loyalty business model.
Issues[edit]
After brands are well established and have a decent flow of consumers, problems may arise such as slips in product quality or in safety of products, or lack of customer care. Such problems can be detrimental to a brand that has become too confident. Many brands continue to get away with scandals, and it does not affect their image in any way. For example, the Coca-Cola brand has been involved in scandals including murders in Colombia, crimes in India, and various health dangers; all of which relate back to the company name. Yet the power of the Coca-Cola brand puts it at the top of its field. The reputation of such a massive organization is hard to dent with the powerful distribution rights and funds to create some of the best ad campaigns.
Stability[edit]
Many markets exhibit overall stability, or "marketing inertia." In their essential characteristics they change very slowly, over decades or even centuries rather than over months.
This stability has two implications: The first is that those who are brand leaders are especially well placed in relation to their competitors and should want to further the inertia that reinforces the stability of that position. This, however, still demands minor changes to keep up with marginal changes in consumer taste (which may be minor to the theorist but will still be crucial in terms of those consumers' purchasing patterns as markets do not favor the over-complacent). These minor investments are a small price to pay for the long term profits that brand leaders usually enjoy.
The second, and more important, is that someone who wishes to overturn this stability and change the market (or significantly improve their position in it) must expect to make massive investments in order to succeed. Even though stability is the natural state of some markets, sudden changes can still occur.