Literature review: Brand Loyalty
Discuss about the Brand Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction.
For the given assignment the main focus of the researcher will be on the explanation of the conceptual framework of the figure that has been provided below. The assignment is mainly based on the important points that are based on the relationship between the service quality, customer satisfaction, brand image with the brand loyalty. The organization that has been taken into consideration for the analysis is Forever 21.
Figure 1 – Source – Created by author
Forever 21 is an American multinational organization which operates in the sector of fast fashion. The headquarter of the organization is located in Los Angeles, California. The first store of the organization was established with the name of Fashion 21 in the year 1984. The company is known in the industry for the various trendy offerings and low levels of pricing as well. The apparels that are offered by the company are mostly made in China and the average size of the stores of the company is 38,000 square feet. The various products that are sold by the company include, beauty products, accessories, home goods, clothing for men and women. The company has been involved in several controversies related to the labour related practices that are followed by them in the various parts of the world (Forever21.com 2018).
The title of the journal is “Brand evaluation, satisfaction and trust as predictors of brand loyalty: the mediator-moderator effect of brand relationships”. The author of the paper is Cleopatra Veloutsou. The journal has been reviewed to be found appropriate for the study that is related to “brand loyalty”. The methodology that was chosen for the analysis in the journal was based on the data that was collected from 189 women using lipstick from a particular brand. The nature of the research is mainly qualitative in nature. The research strategy that was applied in this case was based on the opinions that were provided by 189 people. The data was collected with the help of questionnaire and surveys. The research is conclusive and descriptive in nature (Veloutsou 2015).
Brand loyalty ca be defined as the attachment levels of the customers with the products that are offered by a particular brand. The loyalty is related to the experience that they have with the services or products that are offered by the brand and the relationship that is established between the loyalty and attitude of the customer towards the brand (Veloutsou 2015).
Importance of brand loyalty
The title of the journal is “Brand and product attachment in an industrial context: The effects on brand loyalty”. The authors of the journal paper are “Giuseppe Pedeliento, Daniela Andreini, Mara Bergamaschi, Jari Salo”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of brand loyalty. The methodological choice was based on the surveying of 317 people. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the brand loyalty of a product (Pedeliento et al. 2016).
The brand loyalty of the consumers plays a significant role for the marketers of the organization as they are able to gain more profits and share in market with the help of the loyalty that is created by their brand in the market. The consumers are likely to switch to other brands if they are not loyal to the brand that they currently using. The loyalty of the brand helps the organization to gain free advertising if its products with the help of word of mouth (Pedeliento et al. 2016).
The title of the journal is “Supermarket self-checkout service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty: Empirical evidence from an emerging market”. The authors of the journal paper are “Fatma Demirci Orel and Ali Kara”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of service quality. The methodological choice was based on the surveying of 275 shoppers in the supermarkets. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the service quality provided to the customers (Orel and Kara 2014).
The value of a brand like Forever 21 is created in the minds of the consumers with the help of the service quality that it provides to the customers which include various factors like, convenience, right price and performance of the product. The differentiation that the organization is able to create from the other brands in the market is also created with the help of the service quality (Orel and Kara 2014).
The service quality provided to customers is important for Forever 21 as the quality of service is based on the focus of the brand on the creation of a connection with the customers. This helps in the enhancement of the relationship of the customers with the brand. This further helps the organization in creating loyalty for its products and the satisfied customers tend to repeat their purchase as well (Orel and Kara 2014).
Service quality
The title of the journal is “Customer Satisfaction and Long-Term Stock Returns”. The authors of the journal paper are “Alina Sorescu & Sorin M. Sorescu”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of customer satisfaction. The methodological choice was based on the surveying of 200 people or customers of various firms. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the satisfaction levels of the customers (Sorescu and Sorescu 2016).
The customer satisfaction based concept is related to the long-term relationship with the behaviour of the consumers towards the products that are offered to the customers. The relationship of the levels of customer satisfaction with the behaviour of the consumers has been studied by the researchers (Sorescu and Sorescu 2016).
The satisfaction that is provided to customers is important for the business organization like Forever 21. This is considered to be an important aspect of the profitable running of the business organization. The satisfaction of the customers helps in the creation of a positive impact on the organization. This also increases the share of the company in the market. The main reason behind is that if the customers are satisfied with the services and the product that are offered, the chances of repeat purchase can increase (Sorescu and Sorescu 2016).
The title of the journal is “The Impact of Brand Image on Consumer Behavior: A Literature Review”. The authors of the journal paper are “Yi Zhang”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of service quality. The methodological choice was based on the surveying of 200 customers of organizations. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the brand image of the organization (Zhang 2015).
The brand image of the organization is mainly a set of various features that are related to the motto or vision of Forever 21. The brand image is a part of the reputation that is held by the brand in the industry. The image of the brand is based on the ways by which it is able to gain more customers for the company.
The title of the journal is “Brand image and customers’ willingness to pay a price premium for food brands”. The authors of the journal paper are “Johan Anselmsson, Niklas Bondesson and Ulf Johanson”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of brand image. The methodological choice was based on the surveying of the brand image of food products. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the brand image of the organization (Anselmsson, Vestman Bondesson and Johansson 2014).
Importance of service quality to Forever 21
The image of the brand is important for the organization like Forever 21 as it helps in depicting the values for which a brand is recognised. The organization needs to have a set of values which are strong enough for the employees and the stakeholders of the company. The customers of the modern business environment are not only concerned about the price and the quality of the products, they are similarly interested in the image that is held by the brand in the market (Anselmsson, Vestman Bondesson and Johansson 2014).
The title of the journal is “How the personality of retail bank customers interferes with the relationship between service quality and loyalty”. The authors of the journal paper are “Mohammad Ahmad Al-hawari”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of relationship between the service quality and brand loyalty. The methodological choice was based on the surveying the experiences and attitudes of the consumers towards the primary bank. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the service quality and the brand loyalty of the customers (Al-Hawari 2015).
The relationship that has been established between the brand loyalty and the quality of services that are provided to the customers of Forever 21 is important for the sustainable and profitable operations of the organization. The organization is able to maintain a competitive advantage in the market with the help of this positive relationship. The loyalty that is shown by the customers towards a brand is found to be an indicator of the levels of retention of the customers. The major indicator that is related to service quality is the matching of customer satisfaction with the demand of the consumers. These two factors are related to each other as the service quality is considered to be an important factor that affects the loyalty of the customers towards the brand of Forever 21 (Al-Hawari 2015).
The title of the journal is “Transitioning loyalty programs: a commentary on “the relationship between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction”. The authors of the journal paper are “John T Bowen and Shiang Lih Chan McCain”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of service quality. The methodological choice was based on the analysis of the previous literature related to the subject. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the customer satisfaction and the brand loyalty (Bowen and Chen McCain 2015).
Customer satisfaction
The relationship that has been established between the customer satisfaction and the brand loyalty is important for the successful operations of an organization like Forever 21. The organization mainly treats the customers as a part of its strategic goal in the market. The businesses are able to focus on the customer satisfaction related factor in a lot of ways. The research based on this relationship has depicted that a positive relationship is able to affect the loyalty of the brand in an effective manner. The lack of satisfaction of the customers thereby relate to the lack of the loyalty of the customers towards an organization like Forever 21. The satisfaction of the customers however may not always lead to the positive increase in the sales. The satisfied customers may not always return to purchase the products that has satisfied them previously. The relationship that is established between the brand loyalty and the satisfaction levels of the consumers is not same for all the organizations. However, in the case of Forever 21, the satisfaction level of the customers is closely related to the loyalty that they can have towards the brand. The satisfaction that is provided by the products of Forever 21 to the customers can easily lead to the loyalty of the brand in the market (Bowen and Chen McCain 2015).
The title of the journal is “Measuring customer based beverage brand equity: Investigating the relationship between perceived quality, brand awareness, brand image, and brand loyalty”. The authors of the journal paper are “Salman Saleem, Saleem Ur Rahman and Rana Muhammad Umar”. The journal has been reviewed and has been found to be appropriate for the study of the importance of service quality. The methodological choice was based on the surveying of 150 consumers. The nature of the research is qualitative analysis which is based on the literature review of the importance that is held by the brand image and brand loyalty (Saleem, Rahman and Umar 2015).
The identity of the brand is strongly related to the loyalty of the customers towards the brand. The various research based studies have shown that the image or identity that is created by the brand in the market affect the loyalty of the customers towards the brand. The customers tend to be more loyal towards the brands that have a better brand image as compared to those who have a poor brand image. The image of the brand in the market helps in increasing the loyalty of the customers as well. The attitude of the consumers become positive towards the brand if the brand has a good and positive image in the market. The chances of repurchase increase if the brand have a positive image. The loyalty of the consumers towards the products and the services that are provided by the brand increases if the image of the brand is positive. In the case of Forever 21, the organization belongs to the fashion industry where the level and the image of the brands are much more important than the organizations which belong to the other sectors. The customers of the fashion industry are more concerned about the reputation and the value that is held by the brand in the industry. The positive image or identity of the brand is thereby helpful in increasing the loyalty of the customers. The customers thereby tend to repurchase the products that are offered by these companies as they belong to the high quality brands. The customers of the fashion industry are highly conscious about the value of the brands that are used by them on a regular basis (Saleem, Rahman and Umar 2015).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the analysis of the various aspects of the conceptual framework, which include, customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, brand image and the service quality, are all linked with each other. These aspects of the organizations complement each other to huge extents. The relationship between these aspects help in the proper functioning of the organizations in the various industries. In this case. Forever 21 has been taken as the example. The various aspects that are a part of the conceptual framework affect the operations and the profitability of Forever 21 in the fashion industry. The organization thereby needs to manage the customers and the quality of the brand in such a manner so that it is able to create a different position in the market.
References
Al-Hawari, M.A., 2015. How the personality of retail bank customers interferes with the relationship between service quality and loyalty. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 33(1), pp.41-57.
Anselmsson, J., Vestman Bondesson, N. and Johansson, U., 2014. Brand image and customers’ willingness to pay a price premium for food brands. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23(2), pp.90-102.
Bowen, J.T. and Chen McCain, S.L., 2015. Transitioning loyalty programs: a commentary on “the relationship between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction”. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), pp.415-430.
Forever21.com. (2018). Shop All. [online] Available at: https://www.forever21.com/IN/Product/Category.aspx?br=f21&category=whatsnew_all [Accessed 14 May 2018].
Orel, F.D. and Kara, A., 2014. Supermarket self-checkout service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty: Empirical evidence from an emerging market. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 21(2), pp.118-129.
Pedeliento, G., Andreini, D., Bergamaschi, M. and Salo, J., 2016. Brand and product attachment in an industrial context: The effects on brand loyalty. Industrial Marketing Management, 53, pp.194-206.
Saleem, S., Rahman, S.U. and Umar, R.M., 2015. Measuring customer based beverage brand equity: Investigating the relationship between perceived quality, brand awareness, brand image, and brand loyalty. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 7(1), p.66.
Sorescu, A. and Sorescu, S.M., 2016. Customer satisfaction and long-term stock returns. Journal of Marketing, 80(5), pp.110-115.
Veloutsou, C., 2015. Brand evaluation, satisfaction and trust as predictors of brand loyalty: the mediator-moderator effect of brand relationships. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32(6), pp.405-421.
Zhang, Y., 2015. The impact of brand image on consumer behavior: a literature review. Open journal of business and management, 3(1).
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