Marketing Communication and Brand Loyalty - Assignment Example

Marketing communication and brand loyalty of the Table of Contents Concept of marketing communication 3 The importance of brand image and brand loyalty 3 Marketing communication and brand loyalty 3 Objectives of the study 4 Channels 4 Advertising 4 Publicity 5 Sales promotion 6 Direct Marketing 7 Developing brand loyalty 8 Communication Strategies 9 Limitations 10 Effects of change and innovation 10 Sensitivity 10 Over promotion 10 Miscommunication 10 References 12 Concept of marketing communication Marketing communication is the way in which a business communicates with consumers and other business units so as to effectively develop brand image and brand loyalty (Alreck & Settle, 2002). It is how a business disseminates information about products and services offered. The way in which a business communicates with consumers helps them to develop brand awareness and perceptions about company’s products and services (Bellman, Lohse & Johnson, 1999). Marketing communication, therefore, forms an integral part of an organization’s business plan to effectively promote its offerings to the society, thereby developing a well-established brand image (Chen & Green, 2009). The importance of brand image and brand loyalty A good brand image is important for success of a business. Establishing a brand in the market is one of the best ways to get customers to connect with the business. Brand image does not only come through promotional activities; but product quality, behaviour of the business in society and offerings and characteristics of business also play an important role in building its brand image (Daugherty, Li & Biocca, 2003). As a result, when more and more consumers realize the good aspects of a particular brand, a good brand image is automatically developed. Popularity of the brand is also enhanced in this way. A company’s brand image can be considered to be similar to an individual’s personality traits. Stronger personality enhances popularity of a person. Similarly, in respect of a company, when products, services, relationship with the society and other such aspects are strong enough, a good brand image is automatically facilitated. The stronger the brand image, higher will be its customer or brand loyalty. A good brand image helps to create a considerable impression upon consumers that a product is of good quality and is trusted by others in the market. Driven by this perception, individuals buy the product. Once consumers are sure about quality of the product, they are motivated to buy the same time and again. Thus, a strong brand loyalty is created. The more the brand loyalty, stronger is the market position (Chaudhari & Holbrook, 2001). Marketing communication and brand loyalty Marketing communication is the way in which a business reaches out to the people. The communication can be in respect of creating awareness about the product, informing consumers about product attributes, spreading information about new products, changes and innovations and so on (Dholakia & Uusitalo, 2002). The more effectively a business communicates with consumers about its products, better is the perceptions that they have. When perceptions and consumer demands are suitably matched, it leads to higher satisfaction. Hence, greater customer satisfaction entails increased brand loyalty. This is how effective communication leads to developing better brand loyalty. It can be explained as a chain reaction that takes place overtime, as more and more consumers become aware of a product or service (Hong & John, 2010). Objectives of the study This assignment is based on analysing the core concepts of marketing communication, which help to develop brand loyalty. In order to have a focussed study, a particular brand of product needs to be selected. So, for this analysis, iPhone mobiles have been selected. It is a product by Apple Inc., which has increasingly become a popular choice for most mobile phone users. The brand is also symbolic for luxury and style, which makes it more attractive and desirable. The below points have been analysed on the basis of this brand and its strategies in respect of marketing communication and brand loyalty. Channels The different mediums through which the business communicates with consumers effectively can be described as follows (Keller, 2003): Advertising Advertising as a medium of marketing communication It is one of the most wide spread channel for communicating about a product or service to the public. A large number of people can get to know about a particular product at the same time. Since communication happens at a mass level, it is taken for granted that the business is aware of the consumer demands as well as their expectations from the product (Dibb, Simkin, Pride & Ferrell, 2001). Similarly, consumers also understand that since information is communicated to a large number of people at the same time, their motives for purchasing the product has been well comprehended by the firm. So, it can be said that advertising is an effective means of marketing communication when target consumers are large and wide spread. For instance; in the case of iPhones, target consumers are large, so it is possible to reach out to them easily and more widely through the channel of advertising. An extensive demand is easy to understand as it is common to a large number of people (Harrell & Frazier, 1999). Hence, delivering the message regarding a particular demand that the product aims to fulfil through the medium of advertising is simpler. Therefore, advertising is effective with existence of two important market phenomenons; wide spread target consumers and consumers with similar pattern of expectations from the product (Bayraktar, et al., 2011). Advertising and brand loyalty The effects of advertisement on brand loyalty can be of the following types: Increased behaviour of buying- Advertisement reaches out to a larger number of people. This would increase the rate of buying (Hartley, 2006). The higher the customer base, greater is the chances of developing brand loyal customers. Likeability of the advertisement- An advertisement often induces the consumer to like a certain product. This may occur due to the highly impressive manner in which the message is put across to the consumer. As a result, advertisement tends to leave an impression on the mind, which leads consumers to buy a particular product repeatedly (Wallace, Giese & Johnson, 2004). Advertisement primarily does the work of informing people about a product (Inyang, 2007). If a brand effectively delivers what has been promised in its advertisement, then this helps to generate greater brand loyalty, as has been observed in the case of iPhones (Bayraktar, et al., 2011). Publicity Publicity as a medium of marketing communication Often people confuse publicity with advertising. Advertising is a tool for spreading awareness about a product; whereas, publicity refers to news, stories and testimonials about a product or company (Park & Jun, 2003). Publicity is seen to influence the minds of people at a higher level than advertisements (Wagner & Svensson, 2011). For instance; if there is an article in the newspaper or online media about a famous personality being addicted to a particular brand of perfume, then it is likely to boost market demand of the same. Publicity is an aspect that involves personal experience of individuals regarding a product or service. Therefore, it tends to influence consumer minds more than advertisements. iPhones have gained immense advantages through publicity (Whittaker & Ledden, 2007). Publicity and brand loyalty Positive impacts- Since publicity is an aspect that involves personal experiences of consumers, it tends to be more influential. Moreover, if a product has superior quality, it easily tends to generate publicity as increasing number of people will be sharing their experiences about it. So, the product gets self-publicised. Negative impacts- Negative publicity can seriously damage a product’s reputation. It tends to impact the way people think about the product and the company. It may also affect demand for other products of the same firm. Such consequences are highly undesirable by a company as a lot of effort is put into building reputation. This damages brand loyalty majorly. Publicity can be done through multiple mediums. Online news and stories are the most popular means of publicity. High level of publicity would mean that the product has a large customer base. Publicity strongly influences brand reputation, which in turn affects the trust factor in consumers. This leads to development of brand loyalty (Whittaker & Ledden, 2007). Sales promotion Sales promotion as a medium of marketing communication Sales promotion is an effective tool for increasing customer base. It focuses on adversely attracting consumers into buying a particular product by providing them with different types of offers, discounts and free samples and so on. Tempted by the advantages offered through such promotional activities, several consumers are drawn towards buying them. If a product offered in this manner succeeds in impressing consumers, then they will tend to purchase it again. Therefore, sales promotion is a type of market communication activity that focuses on making people buy a particular product by collaborating with certain advantages. Without such an advantage, consumers would not have considered buying the product. This is an effective tool to provide high visibility to a product amongst a large number of competitors. During the launching period, it is seen that iPhone models are extensively promoted through various offers and price advantages (Dahlen, Lange & Smith, 2010). Sales promotion and brand loyalty Once a product succeeds at developing a good market base through sales promotion, the brand reputation escalates; this further enhances sales. With increased sales comes the benefit of brand loyalty. Brand loyal customers are less likely to get affected by sales promotion. They may only purchase the product as long as the associated advantage stays. Once the advantage is taken away, consumers will switch back to their previous brand preference. On the other hand, non-brand loyal consumers are more prone to brand switching through sales promotion. In case of products whose customer base volatility is high, sales promotion is deemed to be a useful method for increasing customer base. Such promotional activities prove to be quite a costly venture for firms, when it involves price advantages. It is, therefore, not feasible for firms to carry on with sales promotion policies for a long period of time. They are normally done for a short duration. Once sales go up and market feedback is positive, the company may withdraw promotional schemes. This might influence brand loyalty as many consumers might be only sticking with the brand for advantages received through the promotional schemes. However, if the brand quality is good enough and has been successful at gaining consumer preference, its brand loyalty is likely to increase. The main aim of sales promotion is to capture the attention of consumers, make them aware of product qualities and retain them for a long period (Dahlen, Lange & Smith, 2010). Direct Marketing Direct marketing as a medium of market communication All of the above discussed means of marketing communication are designed to address a large section of the market. Even so, in direct marketing, a customer is approached directly by the company or its representative for informing them about the product. Here, the consumer’s needs are addressed personally and information is accordingly provided to them as per their convenience. For instance; telemarketing is a form of direct marketing where a consumer is made aware about a particular product through telephonic conversation. In this respect, the sales person describes product qualities to the consumer in the most comprehensible manner. Through responses obtained from the consumer, the sales caller may evaluate particular need of the consumer and accordingly provide him with a suitable solution (Whittaker & Ledden, 2007). Direct marketing and brand loyalty Since consumer needs are directly addressed in direct marketing, it leads to greater brand loyalty. Direct marketing is suitable for those kinds of products whose customer base is low. It is also suitable for businesses that offer customized products or services. This helps to establish direct relationship with consumers. It is for this reason that direct marketing is also referred to as loyalty marketing. Nonetheless, a significant challenge in the process of direct marketing is to maintain customer database. In such databases, customer records are frequently analysed and updated. Customer buying patterns are closely studied in order to understand their preferences and needs. Accordingly, products are developed so that specific needs of the consumers are met. Although direct marketing is highly successful in enhancing brand loyalty, it is still not possible to reach out to the entire market through this method. Yet, through emails and other online mediums, a considerable portion of the market can be approached and made aware of the products (Whittaker & Ledden, 2007). Developing brand loyalty Brand awareness- Without the right information, consumers cannot develop awareness about products and services. Consumers can only be expected to purchase a good when they gain knowledge about them (Chaudhry, Cordell & Zimmerman, 2005). So, in the primary stage of developing brand loyalty, consumers are provided with the right information. This is one of the most important aspects that marketing communication aims to fulfil. Brand personality- Brand personality refers to the different features and qualities of a product such as, stylishness, environment friendliness, cost friendliness, creative, innovative, designer product and so on (Sharma & Chan, 2011). Through proper marketing communication, it is possible to make consumers aware of such traits of products and services. This may suitably drive them to become brand loyal. Consumer expectations- Meeting consumer expectations aptly is one of the main aspects of brand loyalty. Only then can the product capture considerable market demand. Satisfied customers find it easier to trust the brand and develop loyalty towards it. Brand trust- Consumers buying pattern is affected by the trust factor on a large scale (Wilcox, Kim & Sen, 2009). Individuals may only buy a product when they are assured that it is not harmful and has value for money. So, quality aspect of the product plays a significant role for developing brand trust. When the trust factor is high, it automatically leads to increased brand loyalty (Shoham, Ruvio & Davidow, 2008). Brand value- Brand value can be described as the trade off between what consumers have to pay for a product and the benefits that are derived out of it. The higher the brand value, greater is the commitment toward the product (Egan, 2007). Communication Strategies There are five main strategies of marketing communication, that Apple is seen to follow for its iPhones in developing brand loyalty: 1) The firm may enhance customers trust by sharing the reasons behind developing a particular product or service. They share their core values and their beliefs. This helps consumers to understand the firm better, thereby motivating them to trust the brand. 2) The business clearly projects the product to customers along with specifying advantages that the product has to offer. Clear and specific details regarding the product are given to customers. This helps the right consumers to choose the product; as a result, greater customer satisfaction is achieved. Customer satisfaction is significant in developing a good brand image. 3) The business states why its product or services are better than similar offerings made by other competitors. The purpose here is to describe to consumers the reason for them to choose a particular product in comparison to its alternative choices that are offered by competitors. This helps consumers to compare and select. If firms can highlight qualities that are unique in its products, then it can lead to greater market share; this in turn helps to develop brand loyalty. 4) The business uses different testimonials by existing consumers to highlight the way in which their products are perceived. The purpose here is to develop a positive brand image so as to influence minds of the consumers. Consumers tend to be more influenced by real stories that are shared by actual customers. Thus, this strategy proves to be highly effective in developing a good brand image, thereby increasing brand loyalty. 5) The business tries to capture attention of the consumers by conducting extensive research on a particular matter that is of prime interest to them and accordingly project their products and services. For instance; a toothpaste manufacturing company may conduct research on different factors that cause tooth problems and accordingly show consumers how their products aim at removing these problems (Yoon, 2011). The aim here is to not only develop customer base, but also to increase customer’s loyalty by making them understand that makers of the product are highly aware of the customer needs (Harrison, Newholm & Shaw, 2005). Limitations Some of the limitations observed in marketing communication that negatively impact brand loyalty is described as follows (Egan, 2007): Effects of change and innovation When a firm redesigns or adds certain extra features to an existing product, it undertakes adequate market communication strategies to inform consumers about the changes (Wang, Zhang, Zang & Ouyang, 2005). Such changes are generally made to meet the demands of a larger segment of the market. The brand loyal customers, however, may think that due to the changes, the product features and uses may have also altered. So, their loyalty towards the product diminishes. Under such circumstances, firms must inform consumers that the changes have been made to improve the product quality. Loyal consumers are more likely to accept an improved version than a completely changed version of a product. Sensitivity Firms are sometimes prone to provide too much information about the product to competitors due to extensive marketing communication. Competitors may take advantage of the information and develop similar yet slightly differentiated products in order to grab a greater market share. This negatively impacts brand loyalty factors. This kind of an information leakage may prove to be more damaging, if the firm is launching new products. Over promotion If firms adopt massive promotional activities, it may saturate the market and consumers may develop a sense of tiredness from seeing the product advertisements over and over again (Yoo & Lee, 2009). They would tend to avoid going through the advertisements and harbour a belief that the company’s products may not be of good quality, which is why the company is trying to increase sales through hardcore promotional activities. Miscommunication The ways in which a brand is displayed and the idea generated play a significant role in establishing brand loyalty. If a product is promoted wrongly or consumers perceive the idea wrongly, it may result in losing customer base and hurt reputation of the firm. It is possible that consumers are given the wrong idea about a product, which was actually not intended. Hence, the branding strategy and entire scheme of promotion must be carefully planned and designed to prevent any kind of miscommunication. Consumers should understand the product in the same way as firms desire them to. References Alreck, P. & Settle, R. (2002). The hurried consumer: time-saving perceptions of internet and catalogue shopping. Journal of Database Marketing, 10 (1), 25-35. Bayraktar, E., Tatoglu, E., Turkyilmaz, A., Delen, D., & Zaim, S. (2011). Measuring the efficiency of customer satisfaction and loyalty for mobile phone brands with DEA. Expert Systems with Applications, 39(1), 99-106. 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