Effects Of The Brand Image On Customer Satisfaction And Loyalty

Discuss the Case Study for Effects of The Brand Image on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty.

 

In the recent competitive world, brand image of any company is important such as products or service offerings. Business organization mostly considers brand image as one of the powerful tool and asset for their success. In this particular research proposal, Sainsbury organization is selected which is a retail organization in United Kingdom. This study deals with understanding the key underlying factors of brand image and perceived value on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in Sainsbury retail organization. Customer loyalty as well as customer satisfaction is a widely accepted issues prevailing in the business organization. This is mainly applicable as marketing benchmark in case of checking over the performance of Sainsbury retail organization. It is imperative to demonstrate that if a consumer is satisfied with the products and services of the corporation then the customer can display loyal attitude towards the particular brand. This loyalty of the consumers towards the brand is reflected through the willingness of the customer to pay more, offer positive word of mouth and display of loyal attitudes and behaviors. As rightly put forward by (), success of organizations can be regarded as a direct consequence of the brand image and can be enumerated as an important characteristic of the present marketing strategy.

Sainsbury’s is a nationwide commercial corporation that offers financial services and is primarily a supermarket retailer; marketing food, clothing in addition to different home products. Sainsbury’s, the superstore is a part of the multi-national corporation J Sainsbury that serves the markets of both UK and USA. The Sainsbury’s superstore was first founded during the year 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury and is considered as one of the longest standing major food retailing chain having 788 stores (Sainsburys.co.uk. 2016). Sainsbury’s, one of the largest operators of the supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, has more than 440 stores that stock more than 23000 products with more than 40% of the items carrying the Sainsbury’s brand. Again, the company Sainsbury has diverse chains that include the Sainsbury’s Superstore, Sainsbury’s Property Company and Sainsbury’s Bank. In addition to this, there are JS Developments that operate in the markets of UK, while Star Market and Shaw’s are located in the USA (Sainsburys.co.uk. 2016).

The problem issues in the present research include assessment of the attitudes of the consumers within the limited period of 7 weeks and limited resources. Again, the present study includes a small sized sample of 100 participants; therefore, the current study might fail to represent the real vision of all the customers of the UK. Again, the sample selected through the non-probabilistic sampling might not adequately represent the customers of the Sainsbury and might also include the sampling errors that might prevent the learner from obtaining the real vision of the customers regarding the effect of the brand name on the customer satisfaction as well as loyalty.

The present study intends to scrutinize the  loyalty of consumers to different brands and analyses and identifies different problems along with viable solutions that can be used by corporate units as strategic moves The rationale of the present research is to investigate the impact of brand image on the satisfaction of the customers as well as intention of customer loyalty. The present study can help in understanding the nature and characteristics of association between brand image and customer satisfaction and loyalty intention in the context of the operations of the supermarket chain of Sainsbury. The current study can assist the potential financiers, academic researchers, government units in gaining important insights into the nature of the association between the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

1. What is the nature of association between brand image and customer satisfaction in Sainsbury’s?
2. What is the nature and characteristics of the connection between the brand image and the customer loyalty intention with special reference to the operations of Sainsbury’s?
3. What is the relationship between the customer satisfaction and the customer loyalty intention of Sainsbury’s?

• To extensively inspect the relationship between brand image and customer satisfaction
• To assess connection between brand image as well as customer loyalty intention
• To examine in the connection between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty intention

As claimed by (Zameer et al. 2015), “a successful brand image enables customers in identifying needs that mainly satisfies and differentiate brand from its nearest competitors”. This is a term, name as well as symbol and any other features used for distinguishing from one company product to others. Branding procedures mainly adopts differentiation one individual cattle from applied marketing strategies. It is the exclusive set of relations especially present in the mind of clients concerning any brand situates and implied promises. Brand image is mainly developed with the help of advertising campaigns for consistent time and direct pricing of product. Moreover, Gurhan and Kandampully (2013) asserted that customer desires in purchasing products from supposed brand name and drawing concentration to their behaviors in certain situational perspective. Brand loyalty is the ideal measurement from the health of organization. Researcher’s reports that 5% increment in customer satisfaction produces profitability ranging from 25 to 95% in more than 14 industries.

Competition takes place among the major key retailers like Tesco, Sainsbury as well as ASDA and Morrison. Competition is highly increasing for way to increase in attracting clientele. Diverse organization contain own individuality in popular brand in the UK marketplace. In this particular study, Sainsbury retail organization is taken into consideration who aims at adopting strategies for capturing elevated market share and enhancing buyer satisfaction level (Aaker 2012). Effects of brand representation on buyer satisfaction as well as faithfulness purpose in Sainsbury retail organization.

This mainly refers to place of property as well as liability in association with brand name and symbol. According to Wirtz et al. (2013), brand fairness refers to exclusive cost of advertising compulsory by a particular product. It refers to the optimistic influence over product equity and occurs when customers are willing to spend more due to attractiveness in connection with products and services. One of the instance about brand as an equity type considers as law obligations for preservation of intellectual property. Brand equity can even be destroyed due to inappropriate management. For instance, poor client service inversely affects brand image leads towards decrease in the sales volume (Gurhan and Kandampully 2013). Brand values recognize producers as well as consumers with the help of deep-rooted legal organization. Most of the countries set up legal system for copyright and tackling through piracy.

As opined by Tuškej, Golob and Podnar 2013), product is a tradable creation having reliable quantifiable monetary worth. Sainsbury is scheduled in the index of FTSE 100. Customers having positive image will not be focusing mainly on temporary promotional offer but over the overall brand. There are major classifications of product equity named as brand alertness, professed quality as well as brand faithfulness and brand relations.

Brand Awareness- It is single of the major determinants of product equity. It mainly indicates the ability of the possible clientele in recognizing as well as recalling other brand. It is important for the clientele that they should be conscious regarding the product worth and their buying choice at the same time. Brand with high awareness has higher level of probability in purchasing items at retail chain organization (Gurhan and Kandampully 2013).

“Brand Loyalty”- It is solitary of the major solution factor of product equity having direct positive influences. It indicates that a personality purchases goods as well as services from same brand in comparison with other brands.

Brand Associations- It is distinct as cordial connection between brand as well as memory. It is a composite thought, which mainly connections with one an additional like several episodes, facts as well as ideas and examples. It aims at generating knowledge of brand network.

Perceived Quality- It mainly refers to the perception of clientele of advantage on largely quality of products and services. It is one of the types of tangible product in towards brand recognition. Particular brand perceived quality aims at generating values with the help of offering from purchase, charging premium prices as well as motivating members to the channels of distribution.

As opined by Tu, Li and Chih (2013), “satisfaction is the consumers fulfillment response”. It is that judgment of merchandise and examination features having agreeable level of consumption-related satisfaction involving level of under-fulfillment. Similarly, So et al. (2013) stated that earlier studies on customer satisfaction emphasized on effects of prospect as well as performance and disconfirmation of potential. As mentioned by Severi and Ling (2013), customer expectations are mostly pre-trial beliefs in regard with product working through orientation position or contrast normal on the product appearance. There are different literatures present on customer satisfaction focusing on expectations as well as needs of customers. Some of the researchers emphasizes mainly on the capabilities of using innovation as well as advanced technology in enhancing customer services. Some others indicate in understanding the significance of companies for focusing on customer services.

Company mostly adopt unique instrument for measuring the client approval. As per Selnes (2013), customer satisfaction assessment is one of the key mechanisms used by successful organizations in current financial system in and around the globe. Customer satisfaction measurement helps in holding the existing customer as well as providing directions on attracting the new customers in the competitive trade surroundings. As opined by Ryu, Lee and Gon (2012), dimension of customer satisfaction understand the extent of helping organization for bringing improvement in their customer services. It is noticed that content customers mostly advocate products and services to family and friends.

Nguyen, Leclerc and LeBlanc (2013) summary their earlier ten scope of examine quality to five scopes mentioned below:

Tangibles- Tangibles relates with various physical equipments like counters, lights as well as physical environments and computers.

Reliability- Reliability concerns mainly with capability for performing the promised services on accurate form. Addition to that, it relates with ability of trouble solving as well as time limits and service rights of the clientele (Severi and Ling 2013).

“Responsiveness”- Responsiveness relates with enthusiasm to help customer, easily achievable in sequence as well as prompt services and responding demand of the clientele.

“Assurance”- Assurance regards mainly to politeness, employee understandings as well as knowledge and their capability in stimulating confidence and trust especially to the customers (Muth, Ismail and Langfeldt 2012).

“Empathy”- Empathy connects with kind individual attention as well as individual repair and sympathetic of specified desires of the clientele (Severi and Ling 2013).

Scholars enclose their own set of disagreement regarding the significance as well as significance of SERVQUAL model. On the contrary, Muth, Ismail and Langfeldt (2012) assert that SERVQUAL dimension applies by lot of scholars for assessing customer satisfaction in institutions like banking, hospitals, educations, hotels as well as telecommunications and restaurants. In this particular context, researcher mainly adopts SERVQUAL model for evaluating customer satisfaction level at the retailers in the countries.

Due to elevated competition and other related environmental issues, customer satisfaction as well as examine quality becomes on one of the fundamental marketing strategy for business companies. It requires enough enhancing service quality for long-term sustainability as well as growth for dealing with the threats and challenges in the competitive environment (Severi and Ling 2013). Service quality is the extent that mainly concerns with service offered by Sainsbury organization in meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Service quality is complicated in nature for measuring the customer service providers from different backgrounds for equivalent services and products.

The first model mainly examines in the quality of services as proposed by Martínez and del Bosque (2013) focusing on three major factors like technical quality as well as useful quality and representation quality. In this particular representation, scientific quality refers as what is being delivered as well as functional quality indicates process of service delivery at the same time. One of the famous models for customer satisfaction measurement is known as SERVQUAL as future by Lee et al. (2015). It mainly focuses on examine quality as well as difference between customer expectations and their perceptions regarding purchase products or services. Examination quality assessment based upon evaluation on the examiner deliverance as well as service outcomes. It mainly asserts good scale of usage as well as assessment for quality services in Sainsbury retail organization. It is one of the selected meaningful tools for association of assessed specific services for confirming valid as well as reliable outcomes (Muth, Ismail and Langfeldt 2012). Researchers adopt this model for evaluating level of customer satisfaction at Sainsbury retail organization.

In this regard, Kapferer (2012) have asserted that more than fifty prepared definition of product loyalty divided as behavioral as well as composite approach. In this study, researchers found more that 60% loyalty measures in behavioral terms. According to He, Li and Harris (2012), customer loyalty defines that “a deep held commitment to repurchase or re-patronize a preferred products or services consistently in the near future”. It constantly causes recurring product set purchase depending upon the situational influence as well as making efforts in having potential causes for switching behaviors. Few scholars suggest that adopting behavioral as well as attitudinal approach for providing influential meaning towards brand loyalty. Behavioral assessment corresponds with static result from dynamic decision procedures. It makes no particular attempt in recognizing the elements for essential brand loyalty buying as well as causal factors (Muth, Ismail and Langfeldt 2012). On the contrary, attitudinal assessment relates feelings of customers for definite intentions such as willingness for recommending and repurchasing services or products. Addition to that, they added that Sainsbury retail organization obtains in order of repurchase intention at measuring client approval in the most appropriate way.

It is important to understand the fact that optimistic product image contribute towards enhancing client loyalty and building strong brand image for the company. Brand representation is considered necessary for companies for gaining life customer loyalty leading to gear up organizational efficiency. According to Hameed (2013), store image associates relates directly with store satisfactions. Some of the other factors include social motives as well as relationship with clientele has contrary belongings especially on client faithfulness. This mainly considers committed relationships between organizations as well as customers for keeping well-built link between brand picture and client loyalty. A investigates by Chung, Yu and Shin (2015) establish that there is no significant link between satisfaction as well as loyalty. Corporate representation associates with other elements such as approval has no significant belongings on faithfulness. Reputation leads towards customer loyalty due to high level of trust in getting public relation.

Researchers confirm that client satisfaction positively influences on customer loyalty. When a particular customer is happy with the brand, then customer will recommend it to others and will not switch to other brands. From most of the empirical researches, retail image verifies that customer satisfaction strongly affects loyalty intention like intention for repurchasing particular product (Muth, Ismail and Langfeldt 2012). It demonstrates that customers claims towards high-satisfied customers for becoming loyal for the business organization.

The development of the conceptual structure illustrates the association between the benefits of the brand image, customer satisfaction, satisfaction of the customers and the loyalty of consumers (Muth, Ismail and Langfeldt 2012). The careful facets of the product image are essentially the useful, representative, communal, and empirical and emergence augments.

Figure: Conceptual Framework

(Source: Brodie et al. 2013)

The development of the hypotheses primarily based on the empirical evidences and the literature are as follows:

“H1: There exists a positive association between the advantages of the brand image and customer satisfaction”

“H2: There is a positive relationship between the brand image and the customer loyalty intention”

“H3: There exists a positive association between satisfaction of the customer and the loyalty intention”

From the above reviewed literatures on product image, customer loyalty as well as client approval and any other relationships following the conceptual framework (Amin, Isa and Fontaine 2013). The above conceptual framework develops relationship among brand image benefits as well as customer approval and faithfulness meaning. Some of the careful factor of product image involves useful, symbolical and manifestation.

As rightly put forward by John Kuada (2012), researches are essentially based on different underlying philosophical assumptions and valid research methods that are appropriate for the development of the knowledge in a particular study. The present segment on research methodology refers to different research procedures and the design that the learner can utilize in the current study. The research design refers to different strategies, instruments, tools and techniques for data collection and interpretation. In addition to this, the research methodologies and the design also explain different stages along with the processes involved in the study.

As rightly put forward by Anderson and Shattuck (2012), the research philosophy can be categorized as positivism, interpretivism and realism that help in understanding the results as well as interpretations. The learner can adopt positivism that can help in introducing different subjects with the topic under consideration. The research of positivism refers to the study of the outcomes of the research with detailed research based on statistical techniques on matters related to the effects of the brand image and customer’s perceived quality on the overall satisfaction of the customers (Maxwell 2012). In this case, the researcher can select the research philosophy of positivism as the study involves future analysis of the impact of the brand image on the satisfaction of the customers with special orientation to the operations of Sainsbury.

Figure 1: Research Philosophy

(Source: Mackey and Gass 2015)

As rightly indicated by Miller  et al.  (2012), the research approach helps in providing an edge in the course of the discussion on effect of the brand image on the satisfaction of the customers and loyalty intention. The research approach essentially involves the inductive as well as the deductive approach for conduction of the research work. As opined by Pickard (2012), the deductive research approach stresses on the causality, whereas the inductive research approach refers to the process of investigation of new phenomena from diverse perspectives. The learner intends to adopt the inductive research approach for the purpose of testing the hypothesis and investigating the new phenomena based on research questions.

The learner can consider the samples from more number of stores from different parts of the UK in order to validate different findings. Furthermore, the learner can consider a sample of 100 customers selected from six different retail outlets founded in London. A small sample of 100 customers can be taken into account owing to the time constraints as well as limited resources of the learner. In addition to this, diverse retailing brands are taken into consideration in the survey in a bid to ensure that the participants of the survey are from diverse backgrounds.

However, the learner can take into consideration the non-probabilistic sampling that essentially involves the process of random selection. Furthermore, the leaner can also take into account the purposive sampling in the process of non-probability sampling that can help learner to select a predefined group with a specific purpose in mind (Fahy and Jobber 2012).

As rightly put forward by Glanz et al. (2012), the primary and secondary data are two different types of data that require different types of skills as well as resources. Researchers in the social field can acquire data by getting it directly from subjects of their interest. The data hereby collected directly from the subject of interest from the field is known as the primary data. Researchers can acquire data on their own by way of surveys, interviews as well as direct observations. In addition to this, the researchers can also make use of the data that has been gathered by someone else. This is known as the secondary data. The secondary data can be collected from the official websites, published reports, journals and newspaper among many others. Therefore, for the purpose of the present study, the learner can also make use of both the primary as well as the secondary data (Jara and Cliquet 2012). 

As rightly indicated by Oh  et al.  (2012), it is important to know the sources of the data to know the methods of collection of the data. The learner can take into account the process of sample survey for the purpose of the collection of the primary data required for the present research. The learner can frame the questionnaire containing the pertinent questions for the study and distribute the same to the target respondents of the survey with a request for reply. The responses to the participants gathered from the questionnaire can help the learner in acquiring the requisite data for the study. Again, the official websites, published reports, journals, books and newspapers can also become the sources of the secondary data for the present study (John Kuada 2012).

The research work needs to be carried out in an appropriate manner by taking into consideration different ethical issues in mind. A research work needs to be conducted honestly and proper data needs to be used to accomplish the present research. The researcher can acquire primary as well as the secondary data and use it in the research work in an ethical manner. In addition to this, the learner can also take into account other ethical considerations that include objectivity that refers to the need of aversion of the bias in process of the experimental design, data evaluation, data interpretation, peer review along with the other important areas of research that have the need for  objectivity (Jara and Cliquet 2012).

Furthermore, the learner also needs to incorporate the integrity in the research that refers to keeping promises as well as agreements, ensure conduction of the activities with sincerity, striving for consistency of actions as well as thoughts. The learner also needs to avoid errors and at the same time negligence and critically scrutinize their own work. In addition to this, the researcher also needs to keep good records of different research actions that include data collection, research design as well as correspondence with diverse agencies and journals. In addition to this, the learner needs to be open to criticisms from different quarters as well as innovative ideas.

Moreover, the learner also needs to ensure the non-utilization of different unpublished data, procedures and results without prior permission. The learner also needs to acquire appropriate acknowledgement and credit for different contributions to the research and need to respect the patents, copyrights as well as other forms of intellectual property. Besides this, the learner also needs to be socially responsible and endeavor to promote both social good through the research that can prevent different social damages through research, public education as well as advocacy. The learner also needs to avoid discrimination among different respondents of the survey based on the race, ethnicity as well as other factors. Again, the learner also needs to be aware of the pertinent laws as well as institutional and governmental procedures that are applicable for the present research work. Nevertheless, the learner also needs to make it certain that the present work is used for academic purposes only and not for any commercial purposes.

 The present research can direct the ways for the further research on the present topic. The areas for future research includes the procedures of handing the brand issues by different academic as well as market researchers, company and marketers. In addition to this, there remains scope for investigating the ways that can enhance the satisfaction of the consumers with the enhancement of the brand image and increase in loyalty of the consumers.

Main work	1st week	2nd week	3rd week	4th+5th week	6th week	7th week
Selection of the research topic	ü
Analysis of the strategies, empirical evidences and literature review		ü
Assessment of the Research methodology		ü	ü
Data collection method- primary and secondary data			ü	ü
Assessment and interpretation of data				ü	ü
Findings and conclusive outcomes					ü
Final work and submission						ü

 

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