A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BRAND PERSONALITY AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In today's business environment, every firm is attempting to attract clients' attention by establishing a distinct brand image for their products. Consumers frequently see Pepsi as being more "young," Coke as being more "genuine and honest," and Dr. Pepper as being more "non-conformist and entertaining" (Aaker 1997,). "Brand personality" refers to the human traits connected with a brand. Brand personality is primarily derived from three sources: first, customer associations with a brand; second, the image a firm strives to achieve. "A combination of human traits connected with a brand," according to Aaker (1997). As a result, brand personality serves the functions of self-symbolization and self-expression. Brand personality includes demographic characteristics such as gender, age, and social class, which can be influenced directly by the image of brand users, personnel, and product spokespersons, as well as indirectly by product attributes. The concept of brand personality is a metaphor for describing how a firm interacts with its consumers (Aaker 1997, Plummer 1985). It is a deciding element in the added value of a brand. While ensuring a consistent brand image over time, brand personality also allows customers to express themselves. Brand personality connections that are strongly engaged in memory impact customers' opinions and behaviour toward a certain brand (Valette-Florence et al. 2011). As a consequence, a customer may perceive himself as being linked with a brand based on how well the brand matches his personality (Louis and Lombart 2010). In addition, each brand has its own personality, which may be seen in a number of ways and in various settings. As customers get more acclimated to and comfortable with a product with a good and strong brand personality, they are more likely to believe that it is less harmful than a rival product with no unique brand personality. That is to say, every consumer would buy a product with a personality that matched their own, demonstrating the impact of brand personality on customer happiness and loyalty. In marketing literature, customer loyalty has been described in a variety of ways. A few examples that demonstrate agreement with the concept's attitudinal and psychological viewpoint will be used below.

Customer loyalty is a biased behavioral reaction demonstrated over time by certain individuals toward one or more alternatives out of a collection of alternatives, according to Jacoby and Chestnut (2018). As this study shows, customer loyalty is a psychological process. Ekhlassi, Nezhad, Far, and Rahmani (2012) concurred entirely, arguing that the concept relates to a customer's strong commitment to repurchase or re-patronize a preferred product/service in the future, regardless of situational or marketing variables that can encourage switching behavior. Dick and Basu (1994) define customer loyalty as "a persistent set of favorable beliefs maintained by a customer toward the brand purchased." These beliefs are measured by the level of a customer's favorable beliefs and sentiments about a product in comparison to rival brands in the market, his or her commitment to the product, and his or her readiness to suggest the product to others, all of which are linked to brand personality.

As a result, 'perception is more essential than fact' in developing brand value (Duncan and Moriarty, 1998), and because brands only exist in the minds of customers, brand management is all about managing perceptions. The brand manager's role is to ensure that consumer happiness is maintained, both in terms of product performance and perception. In this sense, in the current competitive environment, brands are new business fighters, and customer retention is critical to keep consumers devoted to a product for the long haul. As a result, the success of any consumer-attraction strategy is mainly determined by its ability to retain client retention and create consumer-protected enclaves.

1.2 Statement of the problem

            In today's competitive industry, it's getting increasingly impossible to overlook the importance of client loyalty. The strength of the association between an individual's relative attitude and recurrent patronage is referred to as customer loyalty. Many studies have shown that focusing on client retention rather than attracting new consumers is more profitable. In their investigations, Haghkhah, Hamid, Ben, Ebrahimpour, Roghanian, and Gheysari (2013) found that attracting new clients is costly due to advertising promotion and sales costs, as well as start-up operations expenditures. Because the expenses of obtaining a new client are roughly six times greater than the price of maintaining an existing one, brand loyal consumers lower the firm's marketing costs.

Firms with big groups of loyal consumers have been proven to have substantial market shares, and market share, in turn, has been demonstrated to be connected with better rates of return on investment, according to Rosenberg and Czepiel (2013). As a result, a devoted consumer allows marketers to benefit from client retention. Customers that are loyal are less likely to do an information search and are less open to material that promotes competitors' products. Notably, brand personality has long been considered a crucial aspect in brand theory, and it is becoming increasingly important for businesses. Recently, however, experts have been more interested in the influence of brand personality on customer satisfaction and loyalty (Lombart, and Louis, 2012). Only a few researchers, such as Plummer (1985) and David Aaker (1996) have pointed out the importance of brand personality in building a competitive advantage and brand loyalty.In a bid to contribute to recent studies, the focus of this research is directed towards a critical examination of the relationship between brand personality and customer loyalty.

1.3 Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study is towards a , the focus of this research is directed towards a critical examination of the relationship between brand personality and customer loyalty. Specifically, the study seeks:

1. To analyse the factors leading to customer loyalty.

2. Determine if brand image such as product quality and price fairness exert any influence on customer loyalty.

3. To explore the relationship between brand personality on customers  loyalty.

1.4 Research Question

1. What are the factors leading to customer loyalty?

2. Does   brand image   exert any influence on customer loyalty?

3. what is the relationship between  brand personality on customers  loyalty?

1.5 Significance of the study

                       The conceptual study presented here will be in the interest of the academicians as well as businessmen. Furthermore, the consequences and the research implications will help in understanding the concept of brand personality and its role in building a positive attitude towards the brand and hence making the brand driven customers loyal towards the brand.Empirically, the study will contribute to the general body of knowledge and serve as a reference material to both scholars and student who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

1.6  Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on a critical examination of the relationship between brand personality and customer loyalty. The study will  analyse the factors leading to customer loyalty. It will determine if brand image such as product quality and price fairness exert any influence on customer loyalty. It explored the relationship between brand personality on customers  loyalty. The study is delimited is to NASCO group of company, Plateus State.

1.7       Limitation of the study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing to the nature of the discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. More so, the choice of the sample size was limited  as few respondent were selected to answer the research instrument hence cannot be generalize to other corporate organizations. However, despite the constraint  encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

1.8       Definition of terms

Brand Personality: Brand personality is a framework that helps a company or organization shape the way people feel about its product, service, or mission. 

Customer Loyalty: Customer loyalty describes an ongoing emotional relationship between you and your customer, manifesting itself by how willing a customer is to engage with and repeatedly purchase from you versus your competitors.

Customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is defined as a measurement that determines how happy customers are with a company's products, services, and capabilities.

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