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The Meaning of Having a Relationship with a Brand

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Brand relationships

Meaning of "having a relationship" with a brand
Susan Fournier's argued that consumers relate to their brands in different ways and understanding this relationship helps to inform marketing practice with a significant relationship perspective. She argued that there has been a relationship paradigm shift whereby marketing is now focused on relationships which are mutually reciprocating and long-term between customers and firms. Relationship-rich concepts such as loyalty, interdependency, satisfaction, trust and commitment have taken the center stage. The projects, tasks, themes, cohorts and current concerns in people's lives are currently shaped by the brands that they associate with. Susan states that many people are not simply buying brands rather they form connections with the brands that they use and these brand relationships create some meaning which adds value to their lives. These meanings may be functional and utilitarian while others are psychosocial and emotional. Fournier also pointed out that brand relationships are subject to change as a result of personal, managerial and environmental factors and thus there is a cycle of initiation, growth, maintenance and deterioration which the relationship goes through. Fournier's statement also meant that marketers need to learn how to initiate the brand relationship cycle and keep it looping in the growth and maintenance stages ADDIN EN.CITE Fournier1998249(Fournier, 1998)24924917Susan

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