How virtual brand community traces may increase fan engagement in brand pages

Brand pages in social media are a great way to foster consumer gathering around a brand, but it can be challenging to keep fans engaged and coming back to see updated content. Brands with millions of fans on Facebook have seen organic reach fall below 2% of their base. In this article, we describe how the creation of virtual brand communities can help brand managers increase fan engagement. We suggest the steps, conditions, advantages, and limitations involved in nurturing a brand page as an online social gathering that assumes some of the characteristics of a virtual brand community. The results of our study show that a brand page can have some of the characteristics of a virtual brand community—topical information exchange, identity communication, and establishment and internalization of cultural norms. We also show the importance of having celebrities among fans in order to foster social interactions and legitimate social practices on brand pages.     

Creation of consumer loyalty and trust in the retailer through store brands: The moderating effect of choice of store brand name

Within the current economic context, store brands play an important role in differentiation strategies based on assortment and positioning in terms of distributor prices. To begin with, this study identifies three determining aspects of retail loyalty and trust: satisfaction with price levels, the perceived image of the assortment and loyalty to the store brands (SB). Secondly, this study proposes a theoretical relational model among the aforementioned aspects. Finally, this study analyzes the moderating role that the strategy of choosing SB name (umbrella brand label vs. brands different from the label brand) plays in the relationship between loyalty to SB and loyalty to and trust in the retailer. By including this moderating variable, we seek to contribute to current academic research and to provide insights into the importance that SB strategy (label vs. own name) has for the effect of loyalty to SB on the relative results of the retail company. Our research results show that making the umbrella SB name the same as the label brand name increases the positive effect of customer loyalty to SB on loyalty to the retailer, but not the effect of trust on this loyalty compared to chains that use SB names different from those of the label. These results have important implications for management.     

Employee brand engagement on social media: Managing optimism and commonality

This article considers how employees engage with B2B firms on social media, a topic that is largely overlooked in the extant brand engagement literature. Using the results from a large-scale study of employee brand engagement on social media, we identify two key drivers of employee brand engagement using the content analysis tool DICTION—namely, optimism and commonality. Employees of top-ranked and -rated firms express higher levels of optimism and commonality in their reviews of their employers on social media than do their counterparts in bottom-ranked and -rated firms. This permits the construction of a 2 × 2 matrix that allows managers to diagnose strategies for increasing or improving employee brand engagement. This creates four different kinds of employee brand engagement situations, and offers human resources and marketing managers different strategies in each case. We demonstrate how practitioners and scholars can shed new light on the way stakeholders engage with brands.     

The impact of customer awareness of manufacturer name disclosure on retail brand attitudes and loyalty in Korea

This paper explores the impact of exposing the name of the manufacturer on a retail brand product upon national brand loyalty, retail brand loyalty and store loyalty, It does so by exploring customer attitudes towards retail brands in South Korea, where there is a legal requirement for retail brands to portray the manufacturer׳s name. For international retailers entering markets where such disclosure is a legal requirement an understanding of the implications of this for retail brand management is essential. The findings suggest that in the Korean case revealing the name of the manufacturer who supplies the retail brand on the product packaging has a positive influence on attitudes towards retail brands, although it did not mitigate the perceived risks held by customers towards retail brand products in general.     

A typology of organisational stakeholder engagement with place brand identity

ABSTRACT

This study explores how stakeholders engage with a place brand identity (PBI) in the context of country branding. This research extends beyond the importance and challenges of stakeholder brand engagement with place brand identity by exploring several typology of stakeholder engagement with PBI. A case study approach using semi-structured interviews with 39 senior-level representatives from national Australian organisations was adopted to explore how internal stakeholders in Australia are engaged with the current PBI initiative in Australia: Australia Unlimited (AU). A typology of stakeholder engagement with a PBI, including philosophical and concrete engagement was identified. Stakeholders’ philosophical engagement is reflected by their moral support, future engagement intention, as well as positive word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviour. Concrete engagement, on the other hand, is reflected by place brand partnership and internalisation of PBI in the organisations’ strategy. The research findings offer practical ways for place brand managing organisations (PBMO) to enhance stakeholder engagement with a PBI. The identification of multicomponent nature of PBI from the research findings allows PBMO to identify which PBI component lacks stakeholder support in order to make necessary improvements. Further, identification of the typology of stakeholder engagement with PBI provides alternative strategies of how stakeholder engagement can be managed.     

品牌忠诚度驱动模型的研究与应用

由于企业的营销思路和消费者的心理存在较大的差异,导致营销活动没有达到预期的效果,引入品牌忠诚度驱动模型的目的是为企业提供一种对消费者行为进行全面诊断的结构性框架,以此来研究消费者是如何看待品牌而品牌又是如何打动消费者的,帮助企业在提高消费者忠诚度和争夺最有价值的消费者等方面制定策略。     

Achieving brand and dealer loyalty: the case of the automotive industry

The analysis shows that customer satisfaction can be considered the central determinant in all phases of the contact chain. Multi-dimensional recording of customer loyalty reveals clear differences in the interactions, first, with brand loyalty and, second, with dealer loyalty. In contrast to the opinion widely held in practice, customers in the automotive sector definitely do not perceive the brand and the dealer as one unit. Since similar studies in different countries come to almost the same conclusions, it can be argued that the results are valid in several cultural settings. The results obtained are so fundamental that they can be translated into implications even by internationally operating companies.     

Loyalty programs and their impact on repeat-purchase loyalty patterns

Loyalty programs are currently increasing in popularity around the world. This paper discusses the potential of loyalty programs to alter the normal market patterns of repeat-purchase behaviour which characterise competitive repeat-purchase markets. In line with this thinking, a large scale loyalty program is evaluated in terms of its ability to change normal repeat-purchase patterns by generating ‘excess loyalty’ for brands in the program. Panel data were used to develop Dirichlet estimates of expected repeat-purchase loyalty statistics by brand. These estimates were compared with the observed market repeat-purchase behaviour. Overall a trend towards a weak level of excess loyalty was observed, although the expected deviation was not consistently observed for all the loyalty program brands. Only two of the six loyalty program participant brands showed substantial excess loyalty deviations. However, these deviations in repeat-purchase loyalty were observed for non-members of the loyalty program as well as members and appear likely to be at least partially the result of other loyalty efforts particular to these brands.     

Role of customer orientation in an integrative model of brand loyalty in services

This study attempts to model the development of brand loyalty by examining the simultaneous effects of customer orientation, perceived quality, brand associations, and satisfaction on brand loyalty. Data are used from retail banking and discount store retailing services to examine the direct and indirect effects of customer perceptions of customer orientation and quality on brand loyalty. It was found that customer orientation has a direct effect on brand loyalty and indirect effects through customer satisfaction, perceived quality, and brand associations as mediators. Further, perceived quality has a direct effect on brand loyalty as well as an indirect effect with satisfaction as a mediator. The results suggest that effective management of brand loyalty would require tracking of customer perceptions of a firm's customer orientation, quality and brand, in addition to measuring customer satisfaction.     

北京老字号品牌消费心理与消费行为研究

面对经济的快速发展,曾经在中华大地上风光无限的一些＂中华老字号＂品牌逐步走向衰弱。老字号品牌日渐式微究竟是出自内因还是出自外因呢？本项目组为了了解老字号品牌的生存现状,替老字号把脉并探寻重振之路,以老字号集中度较高的北京＂中华老字号＂作为研究对象,针对消费者进行了问卷调查。从认知、消费、偏好、品牌传播等方面出发,试图发掘出针对新时代消费者的老字号品牌重振方略。     

The influence of price and brand loyalty on store brands versus national brands

Abstract

This article investigates how price and brand loyalty of three frequently purchased product categories can influence the purchase decision process of store brands versus national brands. A multinomial logit model was constructed to analyse the data obtained from a consumer panel. The results confirmed that brand loyalty is the main variable which influences the purchase decision process of both national and store brands. The influence of price on the purchase decision process is product specific. There is a clear distinction between the buyer's profile of store brands and national brands. But there is no evidence of any correlation between demographic variables and national brands or store brands.     

The impact of sales encounters on brand loyalty

Gaining and sustaining brand loyalty is a key challenge in increasingly competitive markets. Many marketing researchers as well as practitioners emphasize the critical role of the interpersonal interaction between the customer and the salesperson in influencing customer satisfaction, generating favorable brand attitudes and strengthening the bond between the customers and the brand. So far, empirical research that investigates how sales encounters impact brand loyalty by enhancing customer satisfaction with the sales encounter is lacking. Using data from 154 dyads of customers and salespersons of a large automobile brand, this study shows the perceptions of both the customer and the salesperson regarding the impact of sales encounter performance on satisfaction. Sales encounter satisfaction, in turn, leads to brand loyalty by enhancing brand attitude and salesperson loyalty.     

Now or later: Delay's effects on post-consumption emotions and consumer loyalty

This study identifies differences in immediate and delayed post-consumption emotional assessments, triggering a dynamic shift in word-of-mouth evaluation and repurchase intention. Experiment 1 compares participants' responses to cellphone purchases in immediate and half-hour delay conditions. Experiment 2 generalizes the research scope by examining biscuit consumption and imposing an additional 24-hour delay. Results indicate that (1) products with higher hedonic value elicit excitement and cheerfulness, which intensify over time and increase consumer loyalty; (2) products with higher utilitarian value induce feelings of confidence and security, which gradually fade in intensity and diminish consumer loyalty over time; (3) products with lower hedonic value lead to dissatisfaction, which dissipates over time, and low-level consumer loyalty rises; and (4) products with lower utilitarian value generate feelings of anger, which grow over time and erode consumer loyalty.     

The short- and long-term impact of brand placement in an advertiser-funded TV program on viewers' attitudes toward the sponsor brand and its main competitor

The present research investigates how viewers' liking of an advertiser-funded television program (AFP) influences viewers' attitude toward the brand that sponsors the program and its main competitor through a field study at two points in time (N_wave1 = 529 and N_wave2 = 256). An AFP is a television program which is fully sponsored by and built around a sponsoring brand. We test how the perceived program-sponsor brand fit moderates the effect of program liking one week and one month after the program finale. Program liking positively impacts brand attitude for the sponsor, and this effect becomes weaker over time. Program-sponsor brand fit reinforces the positive effect of program liking on brand attitude, especially in the longer term. In the longer term, program liking of an AFP also positively impacts viewers' attitude toward the main competitor of the sponsor.     

The effect of a limited-edition offer following brand dilution on consumer attitudes toward a luxury brand

This research examines the impact of a luxury limited-edition offer in the face of core brand image dilution of a luxury brand. Through utilizing two millennial subgroups (college- vs. post-college age) as research participants in two studies, the findings suggest that in a brand dilution condition, the limited-edition product enhances consumers’ attitudes toward the luxury brand and that these effects are more pronounced for consumers with a higher self-presentation motive. We also find that college-age millennials are more strongly influenced by social influences than post-college age millennials. The implications for academic researchers and luxury brand retail managers are discussed.     

The financial impact of loyalty programs in the hotel industry: A social exchange theory perspective

With increased competition across the hotel industry for frequent travelers, who generate a disproportionate portion of revenue, loyalty programs appear to be a rational response to the competitive environment. The question remains, however, as to whether these programs are effective at increasing the profitability of hotel operators. This study analyzes the impact of customer loyalty programs on the industry specific performance metrics of occupancy rate, revenue, and operating margin. Utilizing a comprehensive database of 36 different hotel brands (e.g., Marriot, Hilton) encompassing 31 loyalty programs and 435 different hotel properties, we examine whether a loyalty program is indeed an effective tool to increase operating margin. In summary, empirical results suggest that investment in hotel loyalty programs has a positive impact on occupancy rates and profitability. And although the overall effect is modest, these results have several managerial implications for the hotel industry.     

Impacts of retail brand personality and self-congruity on store loyalty: The moderating role of gender

The present study was an effort to investigate the impacts of both retail brand personality and self-congruity, using them together in the same study, on store loyalty. Subsequently, this study explored the moderating role of gender in these relationships of retail brand personality and self-congruity with store loyalty. Questionnaire was used to collect data (n=355) using systematic sampling from department store shoppers of age 18 years and above in Kolkata, a metropolitan city of India. Multivariate data analysis techniques like exploratory factor analysis, structural equation modeling were used to analyse the data. Results revealed that both retail brand personality and self-congruity constructs have positive impacts on store loyalty and gender significantly moderates these impacts. Arguably, this paper is the first to examine the three constructs namely, retail brand personality, self-congruity and store loyalty using them together in the same model. Academic and managerial implications are further discussed.     

The impact of service failure on brand credibility

Recent studies have examined the consequences of brand credibility, with the majority of works embedded in physical goods. Despite the growing attention service branding receives, little is known about how service failure and recovery efforts impact on brand credibility in service organisations. The purpose of this study is to examine how brand credibility is affected by service failure and an organisations recovery efforts. An online self-completion survey of airline consumers (n=875) was employed to test the relationships between the focal constructs. The results show that a service firm’s effective complaint handling positively impacts satisfaction with complaining, overall satisfaction and service brand credibility. The study also finds that the higher the perceived magnitude of failure, the more difficult it is to satisfy a customer. These results demonstrate that it is possible to maintain service brand credibility during a service failure, provided brand managers develop and implement effective complain handling procedures.     

The effects of loyalty programs on customer lifetime duration and share of wallet

In the retailing sector, consumers typically patronize multiple outlets, which confronts these outlets with an important issue: determining how to gain a greater part of consumer expenditures. One potential avenue is to increase consumer lifetime duration and repeat purchases through loyalty cards. This research, using BehaviorScan single-source panel data, examines the impact of loyalty programs on customer lifetime duration in grocery stores. The findings suggest that loyalty schemes have positive effects on customer lifetimes and share of consumer expenditures. However, multiple loyalty card memberships of geographically close retailers reduce lifetime duration. Furthermore, the higher the share of consumer expenditures in a store, the longer the lifetime duration will be.     

A study of the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility and price image on retailer personality and consumers' reactions (satisfaction,trust and loyalty to the retailer)

This study investigates the impact of a retailer's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and its price image on retailer personality, along with the impact of these two variables on the consequences of retailer personality: consumers' satisfaction, trust and loyalty toward the retailer (measured by their attitude and future behavioral intentions). Data were collected on a convenience sample of 352 consumers of a French grocery retailer. Using Partial Least Squares analysis (PLS), we show that perceived Corporate Social Responsibility and price image have a significant positive/negative influence on retailer personality traits (“agreeableness” and “conscientiousness”/“disingenuousness”) and that Corporate Social Responsibility has also a significant positive influence on the “sophistication” personality trait. For the consequences examined (satisfaction, trust and loyalty to the retailer), we show that Corporate Social Responsibility, price image and retailer personality have a direct or indirect impact on these dependent variables.