The Effect of brand image on the customer loyalty and satisfaction in the context of a telecommunication company

Introduction Brand image can be termed as evaluating the beliefs and the perception of the customers with regard to a specific product, a service, or a company (Kahle Kim 2006, p. 4). The theory has become one of the most accepted forms of marketing, as it involves satisfying the customers with their psychological need.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on ‘The Effect of brand image on the customer loyalty and satisfaction in the context of a telecommunication company’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This theory has been adopted and accepted by many marketers as it facilitates benchmarking of brand value during marketing (Kerin, Hartley, Rudelius 2009, p. 132). This idea is drawn from the fact that providing customers with psychological benefits creates room for loyalty, and thus increases the rate of customer turnover through repeat business. However, what effect does brand image benefits have on t he customer satisfaction and loyalty? Justification of the Question The above question is crucial since it will help the researcher to utilise the academic knowledge drawn from diverse academic literatures on brand image benefits in relation to a telecommunication firm, and in this case, the Vodafone Egypt. Thus, the researcher will be in a position of criticising the academic literature on brand image, with a focus on the role of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the in the industry. More so, the researcher will be in a position of Coming up with a up with a theoretical framework, which will help to assess the brand image benefits with regard to customer satisfaction as well as loyalty, and more so, establish the extent to which they are correlated. Relation to Previous Research Traditionally, brand image has been used as a tool of differentiating a product, service, or companies, as many people believe that it creates room for identity that customers seek while buying a product or a service from a given company (Romaniuk Sharp 2004). A number of marketing research studies affirm that brand image benefit has a positive correlation with loyalty, which helps the customers repurchase the goods or services (Brooks 2010, p. 67). In this regard, the brand benefit entails portraying high levels of relationships, showing confidence, as well as providing special treatments to customers. This theory emphasizes on creating a good customer-company relationship, as this creates an avenue for loyalty. However, other studies have affirmed otherwise, citing no relationship between quality service provision and loyalty (Brooks 2010, p. 158). This aspect of contradictory inference brings forth one prime question: do benefits of brand image have a correlation with consumer loyalty?Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dubrovski (2001) rebuffs the idea of measuring bra nd image by considering attribute measurement as the only viable instrument. Dubrovski affirms that other practical measurement tools must be included in the process, such as value and benefit that comes with buying the good or service; thus, the author forms a current theory in market research. Dubrovski’s assertion has contributed widely in establishing the rationale behind of assessing customer satisfaction with regard to brand image. Authenticating this assertion will lead is to one prime question: is there a positive correlation between customer satisfaction and brand image benefit? Another theory conceptualizes that customers become loyal to a particular firm because of a previous satisfaction they had with the brand (Schmitt Simonson 1997, p. 67). This is also evidenced by a number of market research, which has continually confirmed that loyalty has a positive correlation with satisfaction of the customers (Brooks 2010, p. 125). The studies on this issue, however, dwe ll on recommendation and intentions to draw their inferences, bringing forth one prime question: is there a positive correlation between loyalty and satisfaction of the customers? Vodafone Egypt is one of the companies that can be used to assess the brand image of a telecommunication service. However, the fact that it is a multinational company makes it challenging on evaluating ways to approach and evaluate the brand image for the company. While a number of companies use symbolic benefits to draw potential customers to their products, the Vodafone Egypt has been using functional benefits to not only satisfy the customers but also create customer loyalty (Tamer 2012). The methodology in this proposal will consider customers of Vodafone Egypt as the participants. Proposed Methods Using experimental design, the study will delve into in-depth empirical research to study the ‘effect of brand image on the loyalty and satisfaction in the context of a telecommunication companyâ€℠¢. Experimental design will prove to be of paramount importance in this study because it will help the investigator establish the cause-effect analysis of the variables. The study will make a casual inference of the following questions:Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on ‘The Effect of brand image on the customer loyalty and satisfaction in the context of a telecommunication company’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Do benefits of brand image have a correlation with consumer loyalty? Is there a positive correlation between customer satisfaction and brand image benefit? Is there a positive correlation between loyalty and satisfaction of the customers? The study will use both quantitative and qualitative study that will allow a thorough investigation on whether the loyalty and satisfaction play a critical role in determining the brand image of a telecommunication company. To enhance the validity, th e study will investigate on the research problem using a wide range of secondary sources (Yin 2006, p.14). More so, investigation will be carried out through the primary sources in an ethnographic study. The participants will include all customers of telecommunication services across Egypt, who will be selected randomly. This cross-sectional study will provide all answers to the survey questions and interviews at the end of the study. Formulation of questionnaire will be based on the qualitative studies emanating from books and articles that are grounded with theories of brand image, customer value, as well as customer satisfaction, among others. The instruments of measurement will include diverse scales that will measure social as will as emotional connotation of the customers with regard to telecommunication services. The questions will be phrased in such a way that they will answer the brand image benefit. A Likert 5-level scale will be used to assess the questionnaire, and this will measure the attitude of the participants with regard to relationship between brand image, loyalty and satisfaction. Customer satisfaction will be measured using ten-scale instrument similar to likert scale. The customer loyalty will also be measured, with a view of assessing the brand image of the company. To answer the questions of the study, data will be entered in the computer system to measure the brand image benefits, loyalty and satisfaction. SPSS software will be employed to analyse the results of the questionnaire, where the means, standard deviations, percentages, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), unpaired t-Test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient will be calculated to establish relationships (Hardy Bryman 2004, p. 54). Reflection Potential Practical and Empirical Obstacles Even though the study will attempt to employ a number of secondary sources to come up with comprehensive information regarding the effect of brand image on the customer loyalty and s atisfaction, the study will experience a limitation towards accessing some information, because there is little literature covered in the context of telecommunication service in relation to customer satisfaction and loyalty. More over, even though probability-based sampling of participants will enhance the external validity, the fact that the study is a cross-sectional one limits its chances in as far as assessing the consistency of brand image is concerned. A cross-sectional study may jeopardize the external validity since it does not take a pre and a post evaluation test to establish the short and the long-term effects of the prevailing external factor on brand image of the Vodafone Egypt (Page, Cole, Timmreck 1995, p. 92)Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conceptual and Theoretical Problems and Difficulties Even though the researcher will attempt to use books and article grounded on theories of brand image, there are a number of contradicting inferences within the sources, and this calls for a careful selection of the sources. For case in point, while some theories suggest that customer satisfaction leads to brand loyalty, which, in turn leads to brand image, other studies do not find a correlation between satisfaction and loyalty, demonstrating that they are mutually exclusive. Thus, the conceptual framework will call for a careful selection of variables. Ethics Ethical consideration will be critical in this study and will be attained by ensuring that the study gets an approval from the Institutional Review Board or similar ethics review committee, which will ascertain that the study does not infringe on the rights of the participants; thus, there will be no compulsion in recruiting participants. More so, the researcher will ascerta in the point of the participants’ interest in an effort to establish the content validity, which will help to eradicate biased responses from the participants. In this case, content validity will be established by assessing the extent to which the study represents the attitudes of the respondents (Creswell, 2003, p. 183). My Position as a Researcher in a Political Field This research study will aim at investigating the effect of brand image on the customer loyalty and satisfaction in a telecommunication context. As a researcher in a political field, I will be in a position of finding answers to a number of complex issues surrounding the brand image of Vodafone Egypt. Being a multinational company will help me provide more answers as to what extent the company is able to create a positive brand image within the country. Hence, I will be in a position of highlighting the conditions under which the political environment should cooperate with Vodafone Egypt in order to create a b rand image benefit. Conclusion The results of the study will be regarded as viable because they will be based on probability sapling of a large sample size of customers from all telecommunication services in Egypt. According to the findings, it is imperative to note that, indeed, functional role of brand image has a positive correlation with satisfaction and this is consistent with some finding in the literature. However, even though the findings will have a great impact on understanding brand image of telecommunication firm, the study will need to be replicated in order to address matters concerning sustainability of brand image in cases where all aspects of brand image, including symbolic and social benefit. Timetable April 6rd -May 16, 2012 – Fully analysing the past and present literature review pertaining external factors affecting the brand image of Vodafone Egypt May 23 –May 30, 2012- Collecting data from participants through interviews, as well as organising i t according to their topics/themes, constructs, and theoretical framework. June 5th – June 28, 2012- Further collection of data from a case study of Vodafone Egypt with regard to its brand image. July 3rd – July 27, 2012- Analysing all the data collected from the ethnographic study using diverse statistical methods. August 7, 2012- Submitting the entire report of brand image of the Vodafone Egypt List of References Brooks, 2010, The power of loyalty: 10 essential steps to build a successful customer loyalty strategy. Irvine, Calif.: Entrepreneur Press. Creswell, J 2003, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.), Sage publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Dubrovski, D 2001, The role of customer satisfaction in achieving business excellence. Total Quality Management, vol. 12, 920-925. Hardy, M Bryman, A 2004, Handbook of data analysis. Sage Publications, London. Kahle, L Kim, C 2006, Creating images and the psychology of marketing c ommunication, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Mahwah, NJ. Kerin, R , Hartley, S, Rudelius, W, 2009, Marketing, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Boston. Page, R, Cole, G, Timmreck, T 1995, Basic epidemiological methods and biostatistics: A practical guidebook, Jones and Bartlett, Boston. Romaniuk, J Sharp, B 2004, Conceptualizing and measuring brand salience. Marketing Theory, vol 4 no. 4, 327-342. Schmitt, B, Simonson, A 1997, Marketing aesthetics: The strategic management of brands, identity, and image, Free Press, New York. Tamer, Y 2012, Case Study: Vodafone Egypt. Web. Yin, R 2006, Case study research: Design and methods, Sage, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Appendix Summary of the Ethnography The interview process will involve collecting data concerning the views of the participants regarding brand image benefit, which include experiential, symbolic benefit, social benefit, functional benefit, as well as the appearance, in relation to customer satisfaction and loyalty. This will entail a nswering the following question: Experiential Benefit What kind of telecommunication service makes you feel good? What kind of telecommunication service would enable you to increase service usage? What kind of communication service would induce pleasure to you? Social benefit Does our bran help you feel accepted? Does our brand improve the how others perceive you? Functional Benefit Does our brand perform according to its expectation? Is our brand reliable for service? Symbolic Benefit Do you look cheap while using our brand? Do people think that you have an elegant lifestyle by using or brand? Do you normally fit well with other members of the community while using our brand? Appearance Benefit Does our brand provide a solution that is within your expectation? Does our brand portray a good impression for the firm? Is our brand more effective than other brands across the country? And in an effort to acquire qualitative information on the external factors affecting the bran d image of Vodafone Egypt, the participants will subsequently be asked to support their answers by providing an explicit explanation. This proposal on ‘The Effect of brand image on the customer loyalty and satisfaction in the context of a telecommunication company’ was written and submitted by user Haylie Olson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Range of Champagne

Building a strong customer relation with a product requires competent personnel to enable it thrive in the present dynamic and competitive business settings. For continuous and sustainable brand success, specialists should carefully select and position the products to the target market.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Range of Champagne specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Champagne house has many skilled brand managers; they took different approaches and attempted several alternatives to position different brands of Champagne to their present status (Hirche 2012). Proper management of Champagne brands has increased the level at which customers identify themselves with the products. The strong brands have added significant values to Champagne products, as it is in the minds of consumers, thus most customers associate themselves with the brand. Dom Perignon brand makes Moet Chandon Wineries Company to generate mo re value than other Champagnes that lacks such strong brands. Conducting a well-organized advertisement for a product or service alters market perceptions. Advertisement of Champagne brands helped in formation of mental images in the minds of consumers. This has made it easy for the company to sell its common brands, such as Krug and Dom Perignon with ease, as there is little competition. Competition has been minimal in the sense that customers have developed strong taste and preference for the Champagne brands (Hirche 2012). In keeping with market dynamism, Champagne brands find there way into key functions like parties, football celebrations, and other significant functions. With such strong connections, consumers believe that Champagne brands are superior to generic wines. Dom Perigon, for instance, is an expensive brand that continues to dominate the wine market given the strong emotional association that it has with consumers. Therefore, consumers can pay premium rates to purch ase this brand, instead of acquiring cheap sparkling wines. This strong brand connection has enabled Moet Chandon Wineries Company to develop positive brand equity with consumers. Notably, the brand loyalty has taken a sustainable approach; it is reflected on the financial growth of the company. The strong brand connection that the firm enjoys from some of its brands indicates the difference that emanates from advertising different brands. It is nearly impossible for all brands to receive same market response. However, a single brand can influence the sales of other brands of the same company, as consumers do not only form strong connections with the brand, but also with the company (Brand Equity n.d.).Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Product equity helps companies in value generation from three fronts. It is the emotional and intellectual attachments or associations that consumers have with a given product or service. For instance, customers can willingly pay more for a bottle of Krug or Bollinger to a bottle of generic Champagne, such as Mumm or Perrier Jouet (Brand Equity n.d.). This occurs in spite the lack justifiable difference in the tastes of the two brands to support the reason for the high premium. Advertisements build strong images in the minds of customers, such that they move from the awareness stage to sustainable loyalty with the brand. Adverts persuade consumers to prefer a given product to that of the competitors. It also reminds and reassures consumers of the acceptability of the product offering. After influencing consumers to choose a certain product over others, it becomes a brand name. Dom Perignon, Krug, and Bollinger are key brands that control the market share and sales of the manufacturing company; they influence the overall business outcomes. The road to brand loyalty begins with the Advert committees creating brand awareness among consumers. Then, there is the brand trial stage; here, consumers try to use the brand, and then develop preferences. At brand preference stage, emotional and intellectual associations arise, as consumers make repetitious purchases. Lastly, brand loyalty occurs. At this stage, consumers demand the brand and can pay premium rates to acquire it. With high loyalty comes strong attachment with the brand, such that consumers cannot substitute the brand for any other wine (Sutherland Sylvester 2000). According to Goode (2012), Champagne occupies an elevated space in the wine industry, and this has been due to massive advertisements that Grand Marques has carried out. The hard work has built brand equity for Champagne products, such that there is a guarantee in price elevation for any bottle of wine having the Champagne name. Even though there are expensive Champagne brands, the presence of inexpensive brands erode the brand equity. Product advertisement differs from one brand to another. For example, Dom Perignon brand has higher prestige level than Veuve Clicquot judging from the way consumers seek them. Bollinger brand trends more than the Taittinger brand. In a competitive and dynamic market, a product’s image is everything. Multiple campaigns by Moet Chandon Wineries Company have seen Krug and Dom Perignon top the most consumed list of brands. Advertisements also aim at changing consumers’ beliefs or mindsets on certain products or services. This increases the market segment resulting in development of a larger market.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Range of Champagne specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Champagne brands are distributed to specific locations, associated with right personalities, and events. In addition, Moet Chandon Wineries Company has been using brand adverts to distinguish their products from those of the competitors (Chamberlin 1918). This has made it easy f or consumers to differentiate their products from others. Massive investment is required in order to build a prestige brand, and for Champagne, such investment is not a significant problem. For sustainable loyalty among consumers, the investment has to remove the pressure to sell that could lead to negative decisions from consumers in future. Advertisement is a major tool that alters consumers’ negative perceptions, and instils the brand image in their minds. With the image of Champagne brands in the minds of consumers, there is a barrier to entry of new products and reduction in competition from similar products. The move blocks new competitors from establishing their presence in the wine market, as consumers can forego buying wine if the brand is not available. Advertising has been a great weapon for the development of strong images of the Champagne brands. Champagne products remain unrivalled in the market even with other brands trending at high prices. Consumers put more value on Champagne than other beverages. A comparison of the sales of Roederer, Laurent-Perrier, and Veuve Clcquot reveal different market perceptions (Goode 2012). The knowledge consumers have about the named brands are different resulting in different brand equity measurements. Product equity is also comprehended from the point of tangible financial assets that a firm owns. This entails the strategic positioning and planning that a company has put in place to ensure successful transfer of products to consumers. The move to distinguish different brands of Champagne made the Wine firm to register positive market response, but at different levels. The images below show some of the major Champagne brands that are trending in the wine market. References Brand Equity n.d., UK Essays: Marketing. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Chamberlin, H. H 1918, Champagne Song: or The Wine of Victory, Taylor Francis, Paris. Goode, J 2012, How to Manage a Champagne Brand, Some Thoughts, The Wine Anorack. Web. Hirche, M 2012, Brand Equity – the Case of Champ†¦ What?, Martins Winelust. Web. Sutherland, M., Sylvester, A. K 2000, Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What works, What Doesn’t, and Why (2nd ed.), Allen Unwin, St. Leonards, NSW. This essay on Range of Champagne was written and submitted by user Ellen Sharpe to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.