Brand Loyalty – Why it’s important for us to understand brand loyalty when serving our customers
Brand loyalty is a strange phenomenon, but one that affects car owners worldwide. Here in the US, we’re lucky enough to have an array of home-grown, high-quality automobile brands to choose from, and, with multiple brands all competing so closely, it’s only natural that buyers would find themselves leaning towards certain makes that they identify with. Here at JD’s Auto Repair, we have an affinity with all vehicles from the US and beyond, but understanding that customers have a bias towards certain brands is integral to providing the quality service that they expect from us. Here is our take on car brand allegiance, and why it’s so important to appreciate our customers’ loyalty one way or the other.
Types of brand loyalty
According to a study conducted by the American Marketing Association, there are two types of brand loyalty that customers regularly exhibit – loyalty based on commitment, and loyalty based on satisfaction.
Commitment-based brand loyalty
Whether it’s Ford, Chevy, Dodge, or any other car brand for that matter, some people seem to just pick one and refuse to go with anything else. It may be that they’ve had a memorable experience with this certain brand in the past – for example, feelings of nostalgia about riding in their father’s 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby as a child, or a love for the movie Vanishing Point which has made them a passionate Dodge loyalist. Whatever the background story may be, these people are unmovable in their allegiance to a certain brand!
Satisfaction-based brand loyalty
Customers who base their loyalty on satisfaction are the ones that automobile companies fight it out to keep. They tend to stick to brands that they’ve had good experiences with, but if they have a negative experience – for example, with a vehicle that needs an excessive amount of work or a new model that doesn’t live up to expectations, they’re much more inclined to have their head turned towards a new option. It’s striking how you’ll sometimes get a customer who you’ve been serving for years and has always been loyal to a certain brand, who after one or two bad experiences is open to being converted to another manufacturer. For car companies, these customers are the ones that they fight to keep by providing a great service, better performance, and loyalty schemes.
Why it’s important for us to understand brand loyalty here at JD’s Auto Repair
It’s important for us to have close contact with our customers in order to provide them with the service they need. One of the areas we need to know relates to their type of brand loyalty because, with this knowledge, we can service their vehicle in a way that adheres to the specifications of the brand and even the model that they’re loyal to, and sometimes even make suggestions for an alternative if they’re dissatisfied with their current brand. Having a dialogue with customers is a key part of providing high-quality service, which is why we’re offering you to join us for Caffeine and Gasoline on the first Saturday of every month. At this informal meetup, we intend to get customers together to chat about their car interests, ask us for advice, or simply meet people with similar interests over a nice hot brew! We hope to see you for our next session where we’ll be talking about all things motor related!