Examining the effect of brand associations on customer trust and loyalty

Academic Thesis for Master's Degree

Field: Business Management, Major: International Business

Abstract

Increasing competition in the industry and increasing the level of knowledge and awareness of customers has caused more attention to customer retention. The issue of customer loyalty and trust in the brand and the factors affecting it is of particular importance, and one of the factors of creating and increasing customer loyalty and trust is the association of the brand that is created in the customer's mind. This research explains how customers of textile industry brands achieve loyalty and trust. Also, it explains the effect of direct experience on the perception of the brand on trust and loyalty. This research is a descriptive-correlational research type with a causal approach in terms of method and implementation, and it is of an applied type in terms of purpose. In this research, the relationships between experience-based associations and company-based associations on customer trust and loyalty have been examined. The statistical population in this research is the customers of the textile industry of Gilan province, and the necessary information was collected from 310 questionnaires completed by the customers of the textile industry of Gilan province, and the hypotheses were examined using the structural equation modeling method, and the results of this research show that trust has an effect on brand loyalty, company-based association has an effect on brand trust, company-based association has an effect on brand loyalty, company-based brand association has an effect on customer loyalty. to the brand through brand trust is effective, brand association based on company employee experience is effective on company-based brand association, brand association based on employee-related experience is effective on brand trust, employee-based experience association has no effect on brand loyalty, brand association based on employee-related experience is effective on brand trust through company-based brand association, and brand association based on employee-related experience is effective on customer loyalty through company-based brand association

Key words: brand loyalty, brand trust, brand associations, experience-based brand association, company-based brand association, brand

1 Introduction

One of the important factors in the formation of customer loyalty to products and services and in general to the brand of an organization is the image of that brand in the minds of customers. Therefore, companies consider large and long-term investments for their brand, especially in the field of advertising, sales promotion and packaging; Because they know that their market power is due to the creation of their product brand, and a strong brand brings them customer loyalty. However, today, economics and management researchers have come to the conclusion that the true value of a company lies somewhere outside of it, that is, in the minds of potential buyers. The price of a product measures its monetary value, but the brand introduces that product and reveals its distinctive aspects. (Kapferer, quoted by Sultan Hosseini, 1390, p. 88) With a development-oriented look at the progress of advanced countries, we clearly understand that textile industries, as mother and basic industries, have played an important, valuable and decisive role in their development and stability. These countries have owed an important part of their success to the expansion of this industry in the early stages of industrialization. The industrial revolution has started with the mechanization of textile production. (Afkhami, 2012, p. 21) With the re-establishment of this industry in the province, marketing managers should look for marketing concepts such as loyalty, trust and association and the image of domestic brands in the minds of customers so that there is a bright future in the re-establishment of this industry in the province. Therefore, in this research, we intend to investigate the associations of the brand on the trust and loyalty of textile industry customers in Gilan province. In this chapter, while presenting the statement of the problem, the issues related to the research objectives, the theoretical framework of the research, the research hypotheses, the scope of the research, and the theoretical and operational definitions of the words used in this research will be described.In the meantime, companies that have methods for customer loyalty to their brand are more successful. The awareness of the name and logo affects the quality of customers' perception and directly leads to their loyalty, also today, brands have entered many aspects of human life. Brands influence lifestyle and culture and sometimes even represent them. (Rashidi and Rahmani, 2012, p. 65).

Despite the fact that more than 30 years of continuous work has been done to enrich brand knowledge in Europe and America, this concept has not received much attention in Iran. The lack of brand knowledge and its dimensions and correct brand management in Iran have resulted in nothing but the increasing sales of foreign brands and the isolation of domestic products. The studies carried out about the brand, name and sign, its importance and dimensions in Iran are very limited and few. It seems that this aspect of marketing is a case of neglect and indifference by writers and marketing managers. Meanwhile, global companies owe more than half of their sales success, especially among consumers in developing countries, to their global brand and name. It is possible that the quality and services provided by Iranian products are at the same level as their foreign competitors, but consumers tend to prefer foreign brands. These and many other cases indicate that in today's competitive world these are the brands that sell. Marketing managers in our country should pay attention to the fact that as much as quality and services are vital, paying attention to brand and brand name is also important and it is effective in creating competitive advantage and customer loyalty. Competitors should formulate in order to attract loyal customers (Seyd Javadin et al., 2009, p. 61).

In the textile industry, customer satisfaction and loyalty is very important and fundamental, and due to the entry of many countries into this industry, the issue of customers and brands, which is the customer retention factor for these industries, becomes more and more important. Caspian was realized, a piece of fabric woven from sheep wool and goat hair was discovered that carbon testing is therefore necessary for companies to grow and develop their position in the market to evaluate and estimate its life 6500 years BC. The discovery of this piece of cloth, which is considered the oldest weave found in Iran, shows the age of the textile industry in the north of Iran. This historical background has made Gilan province known as the textile hub of the country for a long time and has a unique position in this field compared to other provinces. The year 2013 also caused the closure of some factories, such as Iran Poplin, Besvet, Khavar, and Fomanat. (Afkhami, 2012, p.95) With the re-establishment of this industry in the province, marketing managers should look for marketing concepts such as loyalty, trust and association and the image of domestic brands in the minds of customers so that there is a bright future in the re-establishment of this industry in the province.

In fact, today, brand association management is an increasingly important area in marketing management, especially when organizations focus their efforts on communicating intangible and complex messages. leads Brands are an important relational tool in the management system and they are valuable for consumers for two reasons: 1. because they reduce the perceived risk of consumption and 2. because they save on decision-making costs (Haiderzadeh et al., 2010, p. 71). On the other hand, brand reputation is a main element in the pyramid of customer-oriented brand value, which represents a mode of customer reaction to the brand. This is consistent with our notion of brand credibility as an indicator of a customer's relationship with a brand over time (Sweeney and Swat [2], 2008, p. 181).