Brand loyalty is defined as ’’the tendency of consumers to continuously purchase one brand’s products over another. Consumer behavior patterns demonstrate that consumers will continue to buy products from a company that has fostered a trusting relationship.’’(Trackmaven.com). This is what they (companies and marketers) want to achieve, and to do so they use all sorts of well thought out, carefully crafted strategies.
People, say young ones in their 20s are the ones heavily influenced by ads, by friends and family, colleagues at work or school, they want to blend in and fit in. You, me and Dupree can see this literally everywhere, particularly with APPLE iphones. The system is gradually slowed down and users end up needing to upgrade in order for their phones to work properly.
But then you can see that some of them are desperate to fit in in their friend group by following the latest trend, with buying the latest iphone, or the latest clothes. It wasn’t my thing in my tween years and it isn’t now, so I’m a impossible target. I get it, they love ios – probably as much as I love my android if not more.
Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with spending your money like it disappears tomorrow, because if it weren’t for you young ones we older ones wouldn’t be so up to date with latest stuff in all categories so I am thankful to have you around. I would appreciate one thing, if y’all would relax more and thought deeper. That brain you have, use it. Change the world. But for the better.
It starts with each individual. You can buy less. We buy too much and not fix things if they break or fall apart. ThredUp(online thrift shop) latest tweet says ’’Compared to 20 years ago, we are buying twice as much and keeping it for half as long’’. We can become loyal to brands which are transparent about internal processes and technologies, wages and treatment of its staff. I’m Loyal to Kitkat but I’ve read stories of child labour and I want to know the truth about what they do, not just because kitkat chunky peanut butter is bomb but because it’s the 21st century and these things should have ended long ago.
Advertising can be a toxic workplace, and Tori Flower’s ted talk we watched in Louise’s class is testament that people leave to do more social good because they saw what advertising can do. I mean would I be happy promoting cigarettes knowing what they contain? No.
Cruelty-free, vegan, eco-friendly products are getting more attention and it’s the direction I’ve been taking and thinking about for the last few years. Being mindful of what we buy is our power as consumers and most of you never realized it. It’s also good to start young with things like buying a 5 litre water bottle at tesco which is 1.25 pounds – a lot better than buying 10 bottles of 250ml ones, or better than buying the 2 litre one. 5 litres of water is going to last a while for me. Same goes for sodas on the market. We can make our own juices at home with a lil bit of imagination and a blender.
I hope this blog made you think about the changes you can make internally and externally and taking the executive decision to be a more thoughtful consumer. Let me know what you liked reading about in the comment section below. Tell me, are you loyal to a brand?
Thank you for reading and see you next week!
References:
Trackmaven.com, Brand Loyalty
Tori Flower ted talk
https://twitter.com/thredUPhttps://twitter.com/thredUP/status/1227298775502409728
ELENA BLOGS, YOU READ 
I liked how you looked at purchasing in different aspects. To be honest, I’m not loyal to brands because I want to give chance to other brands and explore more. For example, I have a phone that is not the latest model, however, I still like it and I don’t need the new one because mine is still in good condition and also I don’t like that people try to “keep up with the trends”, because they are buying new product, although they have some in perfect condition! So far I loved reading your posts!
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Hi and thank you for coming by! At that time when I wrote this, I was in love with the kitkat bars and have moved on from them for ethics reasons, went on to buy dark chocolate for example. I too do not own latest trendy phone, Huawei, works well and should last me several years. Thank you, I loved your posts as well!
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