Brand Loyalty

The propensity for a consumer to buy a product again. Brand loyalty begins when a customer has a positive experience with a product; however, such purchasing may end up as simply a habit (albeit a revenue-producing habit). It is important for companies to build their brand awareness (or knowledge that their products are available) and to produce quality goods in the first place in order to build brand loyalty.

brand loyalty

the extent to which consumers buy a particular BRAND of a product in preference to similar brands. Consumers may be totally loyal to a single brand but more usually will switch irregularly between two or more brands. Brand loyalty will depend largely upon consumer satisfaction with the intrinsic qualities and attributes of the brand but may also be swayed by persuasive ADVERTISING and SALES PROMOTION.

Strong brand loyalty serves to protect and increase the firm's MARKET SHARE vis-à-vis competitors, and may afford opportunities to charge a premium price for the brand. See BRANDING, BRAND SWITCHING, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.

brand loyalty

the continuing willingness of consumers to purchase and repurchase the brand of a particular supplier in preference to competitive products. Suppliers cultivate brand loyalty by PRODUCT-DIFFERENTIATION strategies aimed at emphasizing real and imaginary differences between competing brands. See ADVERTISING.