City University
Competitive market analysis
Submitted to: Rob Stevenson
Brand loyalty, in marketing, consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service or other positive behaviors. True brand loyalty implies that the consumer is willing, at least on occasion, to put aside their own desires in the interest of the brand. Brand loyalty has been proclaimed by some to be the ultimate goal of marketing.
Brand loyalty is more than simple repurchasing, however. Customers may repurchase a brand due to situational constraints, a lack of viable alternatives, or out of convenience. Such loyalty is referred to as "spurious loyalty". True brand loyalty exists when customers have a high relative attitude toward the brand which is then exhibited through repurchase behavior. This type of loyalty can be a great asset to the firm: customers are willing to pay higher prices, they may cost less to serve, and can bring new customers to the firm. For example, if Joe has brand loyalty to Company A he will purchase Company A's products even if Company B's are cheaper and/or of a higher quality.
An example of a major brand loyalty program that extended for several years and spread worldwide is Pepsi Stuff. Perhaps the most significant contemporary example of brand loyalty is the fervent devotion of many Mac users to the Apple company and its products.
The good news for Apple keeps piling up. Earlier this year the company moved into the number three spot in the US PC market, it recorded stellar figures in a customer satisfaction survey, and now a new report says it has the highest brand loyalty among PC vendors.(ASCI) While Apple largely missed out on the growth of the PC market during the 1990s as shown by its declining market share figures, it has always been the beneficiary of strong customer loyalty. More recently, the so called "halo effect" from the iPod...