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How loyal are you to a brand?
We all know the important role that brand loyalty plays in life - millions of dollars are spent each year on retaining customers and creating the type of brand that consumers want to have.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/01/car.brand.blog.gi.jpg caption ="How important is the brand to you?"]
In the aftermath of the worldwide recall of millions of Toyota automobiles, there is an increasing sense that the Toyota brand may now be tarnished.
Other car manufacturers are already preparing special incentives to lure Toyota customers away from a brand they may have been with for years.
We want to know what you think on the issue.
How loyal are you to a certain brand?
Are you the type of person that stays with one company your entire life or do you switch from brand to brand depending on the product and price. How likely are you to switch from a company like Toyota to Ford?
Is brand loyalty in other parts of your life like airlines, computers and phones important?
Please leave your comment below.
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i am loyal to mac computers and suzuki motorcycles and thats about it.
I am loyal to Palmolive dishwashing liquid; I can change brands for anything else every day without a second thought.
Brand loyalty depends directly on the trust level associated with a brand. Once the 'meaning map' of a brand is tarnished in my mind, it will naturally affect my loyalty.
A recall will not make me switch, although a major health hazard in a food brand eg. Knorr soups will make switching brands a no-brainer.
I am a vegan hence, my lifestyle dictacts the brand that I support and buy. I am totally and absolutely brand loyalty. To gain my loyalty, the brand must 'speak' to me and totally appeal to me and it must represent what my beliefs and lifestyle. I am totally hooked on Nokia for my mobile, Adiddas for all my fitness gear and HP for my computer!
With "branding" being typically a name or sticker slapped on an OEM product that is sold generically elsewhere, one will usually get ripped off by the name or the statement.
Compare generic items over "brand" and you will often end up with the same product whether it be shirts, trailer hitches, electronics or pharmaceuticals. You will also be paying, in many cases, about half of the "brand")
The buyer should also be aware when purchasing cars and trucks (just what is the drivetrain under the skin for that model?)
It's time to stop believing advertisements, folks....
I have a toyota, it's cheap to maintain and works quite well.
Only brand i'm currently "loyal" is Nokia tires and cellphones.
I have a lot of brand loyalty to some products and it takes a few bad experiences for me to change. Since I was a teenager (now 46) I have never owned anything but a Ford vehicle. I have nothing but praise for Ford and my cars have lasted me over 10 years each. I also am very attached to Palm products and Verizon Wireless for my cell phones. I also only buy Hoover vacuum cleaners and use only Sharp microwaves and calculators. I am also very loyal to American Express for my credit cards and will only use a credit union for my banking.
I have been known to change brands on many occasions when quality has slipped so I can understand loyal Toyota customers looking at alternatives when it comes to their next vehicle.
When it come to sneakers...as long as I have a good bounce effect – Nike TL4s or Addidas Bounce – either are great. With most things you can buy at the grocery store, if the active ingredients are the same and it cost three bucks cheaper, then it's getting purchased. We're in a recession people! However, I have always been loyal to my vehicle brand. Since the recall, though, I have "jumped ship" and switched out to a Ford. I'm not going to risk my safety or that of my friends.
TOYOTA is still the best car no matter what
Some brands are like old friends. You stay loyal to them because "being with them" evokes certain feelings of warmth and comfort often going back to childhood (ie in the case of food brands) or they make you feel safer and are more trustworthy in your view (ie car brands...such as Volvo). There is some truth to all this because what a brand stands for cannot be created through advertising alone, the actual customer experience needs to match the promise consistently over time.
I'm loyal to a few brands specifically because of their quality and reliability. ESPECIALLY when it comes to bras, medicine, and kitchen appliances.
Because of my bra size and activities, the bras that work for me are very rare and hard to come by. I've found just two brands (Freya and ShockAbsorber) and give me what I need and I tell everyone interested about how awesome they are.
The Tylenol brand is one that I miss the most from the USA. Since I moved to Italy, I've been afraid of taking many medicines because most of them can't be combined with anything else. The Tylenol brand works, is compatible with other medicines, and has the variety I need to cover all the basics.
I choose Kitchenaid because its a brand I've not managed (some way or another) to destroy. Kitchenaid products don't fall apart, they're easy to keep clean and nice, and they come with a guarantee!
I'm loyal to toyota and nokia, with my own money I don't think i will go otherwise. In Africa, toyota has huge market, because of its low maintenance cost, so this issue of recalling cars its might affect toyota in US and or European market, not in Africa
I´m not loyal to no brand or company . I learned a long time ago
your favorite brand or company you work for or buy from will screw
you over the first chance they get .
I have just bought a TOYOTA and am sooo excited to get it !!!! The dealer has promised only a one week delay to fix the problem and I really appreciate how proactive TOYOTA has been about the whole thing !!!!! However, I am NOT appreciative of the media who has blown this out of all proportion! All the other car manufacturers can dream up all the promotions they want to lure us away from TOYOTA , but none of it will work on me !!! TOYOTA has proven itself over and over !!!!
Being LOYAL is all about LONG term TRUST. Also, when there is doubt about TRUST, It does NOT mean you go to ANY junk brand and be LOYAL to them. In this case, I would never go to FORD, GM or CHRYSLER as they are proven JUNK. I might doubt TOYOTA for a while, may go to HONDA. But thats about it. Never to Small Three!!
After all what Toyota did has been done MANY MANY Times by Small Three!! Just media did not give them much HYPE it gave Toyota (obviously because SUCCESS BRINGS MANY ENEMIES WITH IT!!)
I'm brand loyal as long as this brand keeps on innovating and evolves to the better. For instance I'm loyal to my: BMW car, Nokia phone, Rolex watch, Sony PS3, Sensodyne toothpaste, Diesel jeans, Ralph Lauren shirt, adidas shoe...It's about image and quality, those brands give me confidence, I can't shift easily to other brands even of they are cheaper and deliver the same benefits.
I'm not loyal to Toyota anymore that's for sure. As an owner I've been ignored, shunted aside and shined on for months now. Not going back.
I agree with Joe. My first car was a Toyota and one bad incident is not enough for me to think badly of the car or the company. Apple makes great products but I think the company does things it shouldn't do and only does so because they know they have a fantastic product people want. (eg. i-phone) I grew up thinking badly of Fords so I probably will never have one. I have to have Heinz ketchup and will not eat No Name Brand peanut-butter. It's all an individual personal thing.
I'm not into brands at all opting for sometimes cheaper generic/store brands in most cases except for feminine hygiene products. I hate designer or sports logos/ patterns on any clothing/bags/shoes. I know most people really need that boost, it's a big image thing, that's fine if that's their thing, it's just not mine or anyone in my family.
I drive a Prius , my first Toyota and 2 weeks ago I received a email from my dealership letting me know that I would be emailed of any information concerning my car. Add that to the warm caring customer service I receive every time I go in for regular maintenance and a recent flat tire , fixed at no cost and fixed right then and there..in and out in 15 minutes..so far I have no problems with Toyota. I never got that treatment with the previous 3 Chrysler vans.
It simplifies things to buy products that are trusted and reliable, so unless something very bad happens, I am loyal to products. I shop in the same store, go to the same barber and buy the same brand name mobile. Once or twice I have switched, but have always been disappointed. I mean, if it ain't broken, why fix it. As for Toyota having to recall millions of cars, for the most part, Toyota is a brand one can rely on. So, I think they are entitled a few million lemons. Of course I don't want one of those lemons. No one is perfect and anyway, perfection is like a moving target. Be patient, and things will turn around in a positive way for Toyota again.
Downy Fabric Softner I can't do without! Born and raised in America but moved to England six years ago. I bring Downy back whenever I visit America. Change brands according to sales and cost of everything else but never my Downy.
currently my realiable brand is sumsung a 4ne of my choice,i luv sumsung be it radio,computer,laptop,dvd anything by sumsung is best
By in large, I'm not brand loyal. If I find something that works, cool, but I don't feel I owe it to a company to stick to their products. And when it comes to companies that deal in abstract products (like insurance), I'm even less loyal. As far as I'm concerned, my brand loyalty will increase when their consumer loyalty increases.
For certain things I am pretty brand conscious. All my TVs and music systems have been SONY. In case of cars I am big fa of Honda and Suzuki. Lenovo (Earlier IBM) is my first choice for laptops. When it comes to business phone I don't look beyond Blackberry. When I had to replace my Blackberry I replaced it with another Blackberry going just by the respect and faith I have in that brand.
For certain things I am pretty brand conscious. All my TVs and music systems have been SONY. In case of cars I am big fan of Honda and Suzuki. Lenovo (Earlier IBM) is my first choice for laptops. When it comes to business phone I don't look beyond Blackberry. When I had to replace my Blackberry I replaced it with another Blackberry going just by the respect and faith I have in that brand.
Heinz Ketchup is the only brand that I'm loyal too!!! It's the one product that tastes good, loyal and that keeps me strong and healthy.
Brand loyalty is a form of mental and emotional enslavement which I vigorously resist. I choose products for their cost:value ratio. Whenever, and if ever I perceive that ratio to be changing or have changed then I switch; it's that simple.
I’m loyal to a brand as long as the brand is loyal to me through its service.
Childhood plays a big part in brand actualisation
How loyal are you to a brand.. Peachy 🙂