A Study of how Customer loyalty is affected by Brand Image.

Literature Review

This section will discuss numerous elements affecting consumer loyalty that are influenced
by brand image. It will include comprehensive information gleaned from the literature
evaluation and all sections of the selected research publications. Several areas are especially
addressed in this section, including the following:

 Importance of brand image

 Significance of customer loyalty
 Perception of quality and benefit of a product
 Perceived value by brand trustworthiness

i. Importance of brand image

Once consumers buy a product, they are not simply purchasing the item or service; they are
purchasing the brand. That is why it is critical to develop your brand image in such a way that
it communicates precisely what you intend. Researchers [ CITATION Chr08 \l 1033 ]
analyzes how business visuals influence brand perceptions and which factors moderate the
effect. This demonstrates that corporate image has an effect on brand image. This judgment,
however, is influenced by an individual's relationship to and knowledge with a particular
company. According to Timothy[ CITATION Gra01 \l 1033 ], consumption settings play a
part in deciding how a brand's image affects customers' brand evaluations. Conspicuousness
did not significantly alter the relative impacts of real and ideal coherence on brand
evaluations, according to the results of the first trial. Additionally, marketers can mitigate the
impacts of image conformity by promoting a variety of consuming scenarios. Bendixen et al.
(2004) used customer choice trials to evaluate other enticing factors such as online ordering,
pricing, and technology that may impact consumer purchasing attitudes. Despite the fact that
numerous significant aspects affecting e-commerce have been discussed in prior research, we
interviewed fifteen experienced purchasers and determined that convenience, affordability,
control, and community all play a role in establishing a firm's brand image.

On the contrary, author [ CITATION Ala03 \l 1033 ] discusses the findings of a survey done
among 194 retail electronic equipment salespeople and 190 male buyers. Salespeople's direct
important weights were shown to be significantly different from conjointly generated weights
in that, during the latter case, original country cues had a substantial and, in terms of
perceived quality, bigger impact than another attributes. Multiple regression models
connecting direct perceptions of home countries to brand assessments suggest that the nesting
of nation perceptions within brand evaluations may partially account for this apparent
contradiction. Author Sharifah [ CITATION Alw19 \l 1033 ] argues that a company's website
should be viewed as a tool for enhancing the brand's image. Recent online branding research
(Supphellen and Nysveen, 2018; Christodoulides, 2018; Stuart and Jones, 2019; de
Chernatony et al., 2019) demonstrates the importance of both functional and emotional
aspects of brand characterization, such as corporate brand images (CBI), in determining
online consumer responses. Recent research has examined the impact of business brands on
the Internet. Due to a dearth of empirical study on this subject, there is ongoing disagreement
about whether digital corporate brand values are comparable to those found in an offline
context. Recognizing the relevance of brand image in an online setting and in comprehending
consumer responses, this study examines what corporate brand pictures are appropriate for an
online context but whether or not they influence consumer replies as loyalty. The research
examines the CBI of an online-only book shop using a personification technique. The
findings indicate that corporate brand attributes such as openness to experience, innovation,
chic, informality, and competence are significant in determining an online retailer's corporate
brand image and are associated with client loyalty. The study's practical contribution and
management consequences are in the form of strategic direction and brand positioning in an
online environment.

According to Seppo [ CITATION Rai03 \l 1033 ], when a brand launches a service or

product to the market, it almost always faces competition. It's where the company must be
innovative in ways to point out and cut through the clutter. A strong brand image is an
excellent approach to differentiate the brand from the competitors. Brands have a significant
impact on purchasing choices (Gordon et al., 1993). Further experiments by authors
[ CITATION Chr15 \l 1033 ] reveal how a function at different of contextual ideal self-image
that consumers see as ideal to present in a particular scenario is a more reliable assessment of
brand attitudes than static self-image concepts such as real and desired self-image. Creating
effective brand visuals requires consideration of the circumstances under which the product
will be consumed. However, branding (Mudambi, 2002) requires more direct interactions
with consumers. Prior research has established the critical role of spokespersons in endorsing
products that may sway customer purchasing decisions (Lynch & Schuler, 1994).

ii. Significance of customer loyalty

Author Harkiranpal [ CITATION Sin06 \l 1033 ] conducted a study which emphasized which
states businesses must consider their customers' requirements and desires.
That is why numerous experts and academicians have repeatedly stressed the critical nature
of customer happiness, loyalty, and retention. Customer satisfaction is critical since numerous
studies have demonstrated that it has a beneficial effect on an organization's profitability. As
a result, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of consumer pleasure and discontent.

Additionally, customer pleasure, loyalty, and retention all have a favorable correlation. As a
result, customer happiness, loyalty, and retention are all critical components of an
organization's success. Numerous scholars have examined the critical nature of customer
satisfaction. According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2001), fulfillment is related with sentiments
of acceptance, pleasure, relief, enthusiasm, and delight. Numerous elements contribute to
customer happiness. Hokanson (1995) defines these elements as friendly personnel, courteous
employees, competent employees, helpful employees, billing accuracy, timely billing,
competitive price, quality of service, good value, billing clarity, and retention.

Author Reshma highlights that the customer loyalty is defined as the degree to which a
relationship exists between an individual's relative attitude and repeat patronage[ CITATION
Res11 \l 1033 ]. The purpose of this study is to elicit information about a customer's
propensity to purchase a brand/product, as well as the elements that influence his purchasing
behavior and attitude toward the brand. An investigation (Aaker, 1997) is conducted to
determine what are the influencing variables that compel him to be a brand loyalist. The
theoretical analysis and conceptual model presented here envision brand loyalty via the lens
of brand personality. Author (Levy, 1959) indicates that brand
personality contains demographic features, such as gender, age and social class, and they may
be directly influenced by the image of the brand users, personnel and product spokespersons,
and indirectly affected by product attributes as well. Thus, customer loyalty can be
strengthened or retained by considering a variety of other factors such as communicating a
positive brand relationship by incorporating the concept of brand personality, thereby
enhancing customer relationship building through social and resource exchanges and
positively affecting the customer's satisfaction (Keller et al., 1993).

Researcher [ CITATION Ros09 \l 1033 ] emphasis the necessity of identification,

understanding and management of mediating influences in the context of the development of
loyalty. The research emphasizes the need of a diversified strategy to customer loyalty
development and management by effectively recompensing consumers at different levels.
The findings emphasize the relevance of reciprocal in terms of the value of service
customers. Hallowell (1996), who investigates the connections between profitability,
customer pleasure, and customer loyalty, offers another significant perspective on evaluating
customer loyalty. In this case, the author uses parameters related to the length of customer
relationships and, respectively, the depth of customer relationships to measure loyalty as a
dependent variable. According to the author, brand loyalty measurements are divided into
four types (Mellens et al, 1996), based on two dimensions: attitudinal vs behavioral
assessments, and brand-oriented versus individual-oriented measures. As a result, the writer
divides loyalty measures into three categories: attitudinal brand-oriented measures and
behavioral brand-oriented measures.

iii. Perception of quality and benefit of a product

Author Crentsil [CITATION Cre15 \l 1033 ] argues about the consumers judgement about a
product's quality. Consumers have varied notions or perceptions about product quality
depending on their ages, economic levels, and educational backgrounds, and this has a big
impact on the criteria they use to determine product quality when making a purchase.
Consumers buy a service or product because it satisfies their identified requirements (Palmer,
2018). The consumer's impression of the quality of product capable of meeting those
demands influences his or her selection of this products in order to meet certain needs.
According to Perrault et al (1997), many business managers get caught up in the technical
intricacies of manufacturing a product, while most clients or consumers consider the product
in terms of its quality and overall satisfaction. The one and only way for a company's product
to thrive in the industry and be designed with the factors that customers use to judge product
quality is in this direction. Quality is seen differently by various customers. Some people
believe that a product with a steep cost is of great quality for one buyer but not for another.

According to Arslan [ CITATION FMü10 \l 1033 ], brand extensions have a detrimental

influence on the image of the parent brand, but the match between both the parent and
extension brands mitigates this effect. The loss of brand as a result of the expansion is larger
when the parent brand's affective value and quality are higher. The relative value of the
brand, customer familiarity with the brand, perceived fit, and consumer attitudes toward the
extension all contribute positively to the product marketing strategy following the extension.
The branding literature has placed a premium on understanding how customers respond to
global vs local companies. According to author Alden (2018), global and local brands may be
viewed from either a supply-side or a demand-side. However, study finds that consumers
may be unaware of a brand's international operations outside of their domestic markets
(Fastoso and González-Jiménez 2018; Sichtmann, Davvetas, and Diamantopoulos 2019).
iv. Perceived value by brand trustworthiness

Perceived value is the sense of value that results from a comparison between the price
customers pay for a product or service and the benefit the brand offers (Hellier et al., 2003).
The term "perceived value" refers to the judgment’s buyers make about the quality and
pricing of items and services after they purchase them. When a client purchases a product or
service, he or she wishes to receive more value than the product or service costs. Satisfaction
is increased when a good or brand adds value. Cronin et al. (2000) examined the link between
financial quality and subjective well-being. The findings indicate that there is a strong
correlation between perceived worth and satisfaction. Additionally, when relative price is
high, contentment increases as well. Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) examined the link
between brand equity value and trust in their studies. According to the findings, confidence in
brands increases as the perceived value of a product increases.

According to Brakus, brand experience may be described as consumers' internal subjective

and behavioral responses elicited by brand-related stimuli at various levels of contact, both
direct and indirect (Brakus et al., 2009; Meyer & Schwager, 2007). The outcome of these
encounters is the consumer's recollection of their experiential responses (Pine & Gilmore,
1998). This suggests a shift in the brand's function from identifier to experience provider
(Schmitt, Brakus, & Zarantonello, 2014). Consumer experience is comprehensive in nature
and makes distinctions between fundamental cognitive, emotional, and sensory systems
(Gentile et al., 2007). It begins before to the purchase, continues throughout the purchase or
live encounter, and concludes with a special experience (Carù & Cova, 2003; Tynan &
McKechnie, 2009). Holbrook emphasizes his findings that consumer experience is comprised
of psychological reactions, cognitive interpretations, and behavioral manifestations resulting
from mutually continuous interactions with inputs (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982).
Consumers will develop their preferences and purchase decisions as a result of these
interactive encounters (Carbone, 2004; Holbrook, 2007).

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