“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand” – Howard Schultz
This quotation is an apt summation of personal emotion and its deep connection with corporate ambition. Modern markets offer a surfeit of products and services, brands and branded products for popular consumption. Naturally, this leads to a lot of consumer choice and brand interaction for the average consumer. Every brand is not created equal; but certain brands manage to create a deep emotional connect with the consumer, which makes customers love a brand. Such customer behaviour can be said to be predicated on ease of use, word of mouth publicity, recommendations from family and friends, personal preferences, budgets, and marketing efforts.
Consider this: we use detergents in our daily lives. A detergent is a concoction of chemicals that washes clothes. Detergent powders, detergent liquids, and multiple brands of detergent are available in the markets. A regular detergent user can choose from any brand, but it has been observed that most users remain loyal to a certain brand of detergent for their daily use. We may say that customers love a brand because their experience with the brand leads them into certain habits of fixed behaviour. This is true worldwide. Exceptions may occur when bad packaging or subpar performance forces the customer to re-think his / her choices in the matter. However, the general fact persists: customers love a brand because it enables them in their daily lives.
An emotional connect with a certain brand may not materialize overnight; it requires years of persistent, intelligent marketing efforts on the part of the manufacturer to woo the customer. Substantial budgets have to be created and invested in the building of a certain brand. The product (or service) has to face competitive market forces and create its own niche in order to survive in the market. Different approaches may lead to different outcomes, but the emotional connect works best in the market. This strategy hinges on creating a level of identification between the brand and the customer.
Consider branded perfumes: these fragrances must inspire a certain fierce loyalty among loyal followings before the product becomes a brand favourite and attains a popular (or cult) status. Once established, the brand image can sustain sales for many years, across generations of consumers. Customers love a brand because they identify with it, despite the fact that newer brands enter the market every few months. The brand managers are aware of such mechanisms and therefore must do everything to sustain the image and quality of the brand. This is in line with sound marketing logic, as also the fact that loyal customers help to sustain the brand in terms of its commercial fortunes.
Another illustration of why customers love a brand lies in the fact that a certain brand can signal social status. A top consumer brand may not aspire to become a mass-market brand because the said brand lends exclusive status to loyal consumers. The premium price paid for such a brand of goods elevates the paying customer above the mass market for such products. We may say that the certain brands command a very loyal clientele and that remains their raison d’être. This kind of branding is very elite and such status is highly prized by the brand owners and brand managers. Any dilution in the elite status could ruin the brand and this makes the customers love a brand beyond expectations!
In certain instances, customers love a brand because their children connect with the said brand. The choice of little children may be based on the brand’s physical packaging (or product appearance) or adroit marketing techniques that target child audiences. Both techniques are part of legitimate marketing efforts. Children may identify with the brand at a conscious or sub-conscious level and this can work wonders for the cash register as far as the said brand is concerned. In addition, the brand managers may leverage the principles of child psychology to attract young citizens to the brand. The net effect can unravel in the fact that children influence certain purchase decisions and this impacts the brand’s fortunes in the open market.
The social grapevine is another instance of marketing that makes customers love a brand. Brand choices in social groups can be influenced by individual preferences, but a majority following can often influence other members of the social group to choose one brand over another. This is clearly a case of the ‘herd mentality’ in action but brands can capitalise on such mechanisms to achieve their marketing goals. Brand building, in such instances, may be achieved through establishing brand loyalty through group activities – such events and brand owners and brand managers may sponsor occasions; these events may also yield deep insights into consumer behaviour. The observations from such events may help marketing departments to fashion more ideas to make customers love a brand.
Health and the preservation of a healthy lifestyle remains a major consumer preoccupation in the developed world. Brands can leverage on such trends to initiate and sustain brand-building efforts. The distinction between average products and a certain brand can be predicated on health; such marketing efforts may encourage customers to examine and adopt the said brand for regular use. In this case, we have an instance of brand managers using a lifestyle choice to build and consolidate a brand image in a crowded market. This instance is another example of ideas that make customers love a brand.
A strong brand image can attract legions of new consumers and fresh customers. This is useful in the long-term interests of growing and perpetuating the brand. A socially prominent brand ambassador could be positioned to the effect that customers love a brand. Such techniques can boost the mass appeal of the brand and may help it to dominate the competition. This kind of marketing can involve huge expenses that may well impact corporate profits. However, the benefits and the outcomes of such expenditure can justify the said investments.
Heritage can make customers love a brand. An exalted brand heritage can be crafted into an expert marketing message that makes the brand stand out from its peers. This type of a marketing campaign takes the modern consumer on a heritage tour of the brand and its marketability over the years. This approach automatically confers significant legitimacy to the brand and highlights its matchless brand equity that has been earned over the years. The marketing campaign could delineate the brands past association with grandeur from its modern avatar. Therefore, the multiple levels of information can win new generations of consumers and can ensure the brand’s survival into the future.
The above passages have discussed the various strategies and tactics that can ensure that customers love a brand. We have to acknowledge that the customers’ affinity for a brand is central to most marketing efforts in the commercial world. Therefore, every brand manager is duty bound to promote and advertise his brand, while consolidating and boosting its brand value. These efforts should be calibrated carefully to achieve the desired outcomes and can be instrumental in ensuring sustained profits for the brand. The customer’s love for a brand continues to be one of the central strategies in such efforts.
