Toni Prinsse - Brand Loyalty

A successful brand has five basic attributes: Differentiation – what makes you stand out from the rest; Trust – Can customers trust your product to deliver on its promises; Relevance and esteem – Does the customer have an emotional connection to the brand or do they like the brand; Knowledge/Fame – Do customers know you and understand your brand; Value – Is there enough benefits to attract and retain the customer.

Emotional sentiment is important in building brand loyalty. Emotional sentiment turns the loyal customer into a champion of the brand and advertises it others by word of mouth. Once this type of loyalty is achieved it acts as an effective barrier against brand switching.

Brands that trigger emotional sentiment can play on things such as colour, shape and design. There is a lot of psychology behind these triggers e.g. colours mean different things to different people and the circular shape is the most appealing shape to most people. This is where style manuals are important. Style manuals ensure that employers in the organisation adhere to the brand standards towards such things as the logo, letterheads, flyers, advertisements etc. A style manual identifies your brand to customers; you need customers to recognise the brand so they can find it to buy.

Companies also can entice customers to be loyal to their brand with such things as regular Competitions and Reward Points.

http://blogs.sitepoint.com/develop-style-guide-site/

http://www.marketingcrossing.com/article/220078/The-Connection-Between-Emotions-and-Brand-Loyalty/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_loyalty

http://justinksmall.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/ignorance-needs-and-wants-%E2%80%93-the-psychology-of-brand-choices/

http://resources.mediatrust.org/elements-of-a-successful-brand/