Analysis of Brand Management Strategy for Shoe Company

Analysis of label Management Strategy for Shoe participationChapter 1 Introduction1. IntroductionThis dissertation is comprised of shuffling evolution and labor union ver sit downile steps involved to construct it. The creation and adequateness of blemish Aw atomic number 18ness, label Image, and strike off dedication is discussed followed by the evaluation of Servis Sales stack as how triple-crown Brand they ar in Shoe intentness of Pakistan. Servis Sales federation claims to be the queen-sizest retail shoe sellers of Pakistan therefore question is held on the c tout ensembleer as what argon the various marting strategies SSC select to gain such a large commercialise sh ar. Steps to make tabu tag commitment amongst their target commercialise and implementing effective soil vigilance are part of this investigate.Branding is the main ingredient in the make for of creating shelter reputation, identity and watertight epitome of a caller and is unceas ingly a low requirement to take aim war-ridden edge, this create sentience and feed as a positive gesture towards guests to be e precisewherelap or spot loyal. As the Chairman of Quaker Oats Ltd, John Stuart said, if this tune were to be split up, I would be glad to take the pocks, stylemark and good forget and you could have it all the bricks and mortar and I would fare go bad than you . Leslie De Chernatony(2001 p1)In this era of globalization e currently accomp any wishes to grow and broaden their businesses in order to attain a healthy position in throat cutting humankind of business . In this effort companies looking ats more(prenominal)(prenominal) challenges and went through numerous challenges by their rivals and most of all providing nodes satisfaction.1.1 Background StudyThe marge dishonor arrived form the ancient Norse word meaning to burnRita Clifton, John Simmons, Sameena Ahmad (2004 13).The original term was positive to signify the source or maker or owner of a harvest-home or item.Now a days smear is design to constitute service or reapings manufacturer or seller, when we go through we run across that many of the many modern archetypes of tell ons and check offing were formalised in the United States at a Procter Gamble social club in the late 1800s. We get a good example of brilliance of stag when we talk about Virgin which is currently at the face of hundred business strategies.A brand ordain be a strong brand if peoples determine match the ranks of brand. Brandings means tag oning value to the productMarieke K de Mooij (2005 96)Brand stands for a reputation, you are always reputed when you are always reputed when you make a promise and fulfil it. Brand is more corresponding a compassionate nature non just a visual, public identity or a picture. E actually single who is part of the organization represents the brand of the company and pay its part to construct it. The brand is a performance del iberate and recorded in interaction of e rattling area involves customers investors, employees business partners and media(www.thebrandconsultancy.com)Its kinda clear that every company is conscious about its brand obedience amongst its customers beca procedure they know this if they are successful in managing the brand committedness of their existent customers which is companys strategic as install it will automatically add huge value to business firm.As Douglas B states that Brand Loyalty is the customers willingness to stay with brand when competitor be strikeing with fling that would be considered equally attractive had non to the customer and brand divided a history. The degree of customer stickiness is the key to the brands food market power.Douglas B. Holt (2004 p 149)Merlo (2003) mentions that the brand committal is rewarded by an increase in gather through repeat business, referral gross sales, decreased customer maintenance costs and reduce exposure to price competition.When we talk about creating and enhancing brand allegiance we enamour that there are not-too complex ways of increasing brand loyalty. Companies passel observe to recover from mistakes. A good recovery bear bust angry, frustrated customers into a loyal simple machinedinals. Companies must handle problems and complaints with Care- Communicate, Acknowledgement, respect and forecast and empathy(Merlo, 2003)1.2 Statement of ProblemGlobal challenges today have forced companies not to have their business image within their home land but to spread their identity across the borders by managing brand, securing the product or a service of companies and weeing loyalty among customers to achieve maximum and lasting competitive edge.The aim of the query is to evaluate the brand management of Servis Sales Corporation by analyzing their selling strategies. look for covers the analysis that how successful SSC today is in gaining brand loyalty as it is considered to be the queen-sizedgest footwear seller in Pakistan.1.3 Aim and ObjectivesThe main Objective of the research is the finding that to what direct SSC is successful in imperialising Brand Management to embrace positive effect on their customers perception and has given(p) SSC a competitive edge, as they are Pakistans largest shoe company.Core Objectives of ResearchTo analyze marketing strategies of Servis Shoes Company leading to effective brand management heavy(p) SSC a positive brand image amongst their target market.To observe various strategies adapted by SSC to enhance brand loyalty amongst their customers?To find out what steps Servis Shoes Company took to create its Brand sensory faculty amongst its target market and what are the areas they still need to focus upon.To identify the involvement of consumers to the brand as in why they prefer a particular brand (Servis) on every other different brands ready(prenominal) in the market.1.4 Report StructureThis report will be make as f ollowsLiterature Re gazeThe literature review of this report covers savvy and benefit of effective brand management that how people get together to them. Chapter includes importance of creating and enhancing sensation among consumers followed by the concepts and historical perspective of brand loyalty swelled a wider view of the perception about brand loyalty and its strategic values.Company IntroductionThis chapter consist of the brief introduction to Servis Sales Corporation, braggart(a) a wider view of their leading position in shoe guide in Pakistan amongst their rivals. This chapter shows company background and demographics with the facts and figures about their expanded business nationwide.Research MethodologyIn this chapter different method of research is discussed. It too focuses on research philosophy principle, quantitative and qualitative analysis and secondary and aboriginal data. After studying the methods and techniques different methods are identified which is most satisfactory to get the reliable and most accurate data? Which is used in research?Finding and AnalysisAfter completing the research, the data self-possessed through different sources from the company are analysed in this chapter, which is explained with chart and and then it is moderated with the findings.ConclusionThis chapter involves conclusion and the result in the light of findings with literature. Analysis of research finding and result are discussed, Recommendation to company and boost research is in any case the part of this chapter.Literature ReviewScott Galloway stated a very good interpretation showing importance of brands in todays world of marketing that Brand is the face of a business scheme ( Scott Galloway in Alker, 2000 33)another well appreciated description of brand given by Ameri tail end Marketing Association cited in (Kotler 2003 418) A brand is sur notice, term, sign, symbol, or go of champion seller or a stem of seller to differentiate th em from those of competitors.A brand is essentially a vendors promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits and services systematically to buyers. The marketer must think that he is offering a contract to the customer about how the brand will perform ( kotler 2003)Le Pla et ala, (2003 3) give a more profound and in depth definition of brand Brand is the interaction among core company ( product or service ) strengths and what is customer value . Company strengths are what company does well. The occasions that the customers value include the benefits of a products features, as well as what the customer see as the ongoing worth of a relationship with the company. tally to Kapferer (1997 56), Products are mute the brand is what gives them a meaning and purpose, telling us how a product should be read. A brand is both a prism and a magnifying glass through which products lav be decoded.Renault invites us to perceive its models as cars for living.. brands guide our percept ion of products. Hence it can clearly be seen from the above paragraph that branding goes a farseeing way in giving a distinct identity to a product.Rowley (1997) explains that brand communes with consumers, agree too him when consumers are familiar with a brand, they brook the same qualities, benefits and advantages from products or services which are interpretd under that specific brand, this substantially makes their decisiveness in favour of the brand instead of searching or gathering information regarding products fulfilling their requirements. Therefore, it can be suggested that brand accelerates consumers abut of decision making as it cans two different ways of communication between suppliers and their consumers (Rowley, 1997)Effective Brand ManagementThe concept of brand management was develop at Procter Gamble in the US in the year 1930 and is also knows as product management .Ambler (200382).The main modestness behind Brand management is to secure the products f uture and services any company or organization, and this is only mathematical with the formulation loyalty amongst customers creating excited as well as rational values. This results sales in market place and stimulating appropriate on the perception of a companys products .If brand power is tied together in a proper way organization can easily maximize market share and corporate profitability. Brands if handled and managed sensibly can provide their owners a capacious benefits and rewards.Davis (2002 6) conjectures that the followers benefits accure to the company that manages is brands effectivelyLoyalty derives repeat business- A new-fangled study by Bob Pasikoff, president of brand keys, shows that an increase in customer loyalty of only 5% can lift living sentence profit per customer by as very much as ascorbic acid%.Premiums price of brand allow advanceder(prenominal)er margins Starbucks represents the ultimate example of a strong brand driving a premium price re sulting in greater profit. pissed Brands lend immediate credibility to new champion in product introductions. A well established brands can provide instant credibility for a new product. Gillettes Marc 3 became publication unmatched personal shaver within a month of its launch.Strong brand allow for greater shareholder and stakeholder re secretes. One can see a good example is Yahoo and GE are big brands with even bigger shareholder returns.Strong Brand embody a clear, valued, and sustainable point of differentiation relative to competition No one can FedExs claim of overnight delivery.Loyal customer footstall and strong brand make customer forgiving for the the mistakes make by the company, if a company makes a mistake for instance, the strike at the Saturn car plant had little usurpation on Saturns loyalty or sales.The lever for attracting outstrip employees along with keeping satisfied customers is Brand force Companies desire coca-cola, Microsoft, Intel, Disney etc. a re almost always in the snarf bracket of deal which measures employee satisfaction.It is obvious that its a difficult affaire to build and assert a brand reputation like Coke, Microsoft, Nike, familiar Electric, etc and as David D Alessandro, President of John Hancock Mutual livelihood insurance, in Klein (2000 145), it can take 100 age too build up a good brand and 30 days to knock it down.Effect of Brand on People ( How People connect to them)Scott Davis( 2002) says that, Brands are at least in part a set of promises made to consumer. The leading brand travel a particular course of action in the human mind. This PATH is an acronym for promise, acceptance, trust and hope. Certainly this PATH is intangible and cannot be co modified. But he then mentions that these very intangibles make a customer choose Sony over JVC and Nike over Reebok. The following are the customers perceptions vis--vis a strong brand (Davis, 2002)72% of customer sat that they will pay a 20% premium for their brand of prime(prenominal), relative to the closest competitive brand.25% of customer state that price be if they are buying a brand that owns their loyalty.Over 50% of purchases are brand purposen.Peer recommendation influences almost 30% of all purchases made today.More than 50% of consumers believe a strong brand allows for more successful new product introductions and they are more willing to learn a new product from a preferred brand be baffle of the implied endorsement.The view of Le Pla et al, (2002 3) is that a strong brand is much more than an image or a logo. People emotionally identify with a strong brand and relationship with such a brand makes them tone more secure and comfortable. This is completely in sync with Kotlers ( 2003) example of a consumer buying a Mercedes because the car ( which is also a strong brand) makes him feel more important and admired. Aaker (1991) suggests that anything which a consumer realises about a brand can be defined as brand co nnecter it according to him it create positive consumer views towards brands, thus influence consumer buying decision process.Kapferer (1997) says that brand is like a living memory. The memory factor explains why individuals preferences provide and why within a given generation people track to prefer the brands they liked between the ages of seven and eighteen ( Guest 1964, youngster et al., 1973, Jacoby et al., 1978 in Kapferer 1997). This is proof, if it was ever needed, that strong brands do have a long-run effect on people.It is imperative now to take a more focussed look on the ternary constructs that constitute the basis of this study. The first to be analysed will be brand sensation followed by brand loyalty and brand image.Brand sensory facultya number of the definition if the term Brand cognizance abound, a fundamental definition of the term is given by Aaker(1991 61) Brand Awareness is the ability of a authorisation buyer to recognize or riposte that a brand is a member of certain product category.David Aakers (1991) ground braking work managing brand legality details with the concept of brand certainness comprehensively. Hence, it has been use here as a main reference, although it has been complimented with other readings.Aaker says that brand ken involves a link between the product class and the brand. For example, the use of the large balloon with the word Levis on it whitethorn make the name more salient, but it will not may necessarily inspection and repair improve brand awareness. However if the balloon is shaped to resemble a pair of Levis 301 jeans , the link to the product is provided, the balloons specialty at creating awareness is enhanced. Aaker (1991).By using the brand, perceiving it and being confronted with it through advertising, consumers learn about its meanings. All this information is connected associatively to the brand name. the richer this associative mesh is, and the stronger the associations the greater the chance of consumers thinking.Levels of Brand AwarenessBrand Awareness involves the continuum ranging from an uncertain feeling that the brand is recognised, to a belief that it is the only one in the product class. This continuum is presented in the Awareness Pyramids ( Aaker 19991 62)Levels of Brand Awareness ( Aaker, 1991)Aaker stated that the stripped level of brand is recognition which is based upon aided move back canvass where respondents are given a set of brand in a product category and asked to identify those that they had heard of before. Thus, although there needs to be link between the brand and the product class, it needs not to be strong. Brand Recognition is particularly important when a buyer chooses a brand at the point of purchases (Aaker 1991 62).Franzen et al, ( 2001) stated that the situations in which none of the woof alternatives is well represented in or memory, brand familiarity ( recognition) will be the determinant in the choice process. The pu rchases in which consumers regularly choose and re-choose because of the awareness stored in his memory, aided brand awareness i.e. brand recognition has barely any significance.If we see further we see that brand remove is the further level dependent on asking a person to name brand in a product class. This is unaided recall because , contrary in the recognition task, the responded is not aided by having names provide. Unaided recall is a substantially more difficult task then recognition, and is associated with a stronger brand position. The first named brand in an unaided recall task has achieved top-of-mind awareness. (Aaker 1991)Strategic Value of Brand AwarenessBrand Awareness provides a sustainable competitive advantage and can be a key strategic asset for the company ( Aaker 1998)The following are the banifits of creating a higher brand awareness ( Aaker 1991 63) ( Figure 3)Anchor to which other association can be attached Brand Recognition is the first raw material ste p in the communication task. It usually is wasteful to attempt to communicate brand attributes until a name is established with which to associate the attributes.Familiarity/Liking Awareness provides the brand with fimilarity and people like the familiar. They are prepared to ascribe all sorts of good attitudes to items that are familiar to them ( Aaker et al., 2000). Especially for low involvement products like soap, chewing gum, sugar , facial tissues etc., familiarity can some terms drive the buying decision.Substance/ Commitment Name awareness can be a signal of presence, commitment and substance, an attribute very important to consumer buyers of durables. The logical system is that if a name is recognised, there must be a reason likeThe firm is widely distributed.The firm has advertised extensively.The brand is successful-others use it.Even if the person has not been exposed to advertising and knows little about, brand awareness could lead to the assumptions that the firm is s ubstantial and backs the brand with advertising.Brands to consider The piece of brand recall (discussed earlier) is crucial for frequently purchased products like chocolate, detergent, serials et. Several studies have demonstrated the relationship between top of mind recall and attitude/purchase conduct. One such study, of six brands in the three product classes (Fast food, Soda and banking), showed large differences in preferences and purchase likely hood, depending on weather the brand was first, second or third mentioned in an unaided recall task (Woodside and Wilson, 1985 in Aaker, 1991). Sometimes it is possible that people recall brands that they disfavour strongly.Benefits of Brand Awareness (Aaker 1991)A number of researchers besides Aaker have also demonstrated that brand awareness is a particularly important concept relative to brand evaluation in predicting and explaining consumer choice doings. For instance, Arch G (1996 38) refered to Axelrod (1968 , 1986) demonstra ted that top-of-mind awareness (TOMA) of a brand is a sensitive and stable measure than can serve as an negotiate criterion for predicting brand-choice behaviour and brand-switching behaviour. Axelrod (1968) in Aech G(1996 38) emphasized the needs for developing valid and reliable intermediate survey indicators of whether marketing and advertising influence product and brand choice behaviour because of the greater expense and time necessary for experiments to measure the impact of marketing and advertising actions on such behaviour.Haley et al, (1979 in Holden et al., 1992) postulated that brand awareness is more important than attitude. This nation was supported by Hauser (1978 in Holden et al .,1992) who, using an information theoretic approach, reported that the probability of inclusion of the brand in the evoke ( recalled ) set accounts for more variation in brand choice thus brand attitude (Holden et al., 1992)Similar to Aaker ( 1991), Holden et al, (1992) also say that in t he case of low involvement purchase, Brand recall may be reason enough to buy the brand ( that has been recalledAlso a high degree of brand awareness is linked to higher sales due to the factor of Social desirability . Most people track down to behave according to the expectations of their social milieu, even when it goes against their own opinion. If they are aware of the brand, they will have a tendency to buy it because it is the socially desirably thing to do ( Franzen et al., 2001).Copeland (1923 287) talked about the benefits of brand awareness as follows if the consumers forward acquaintance with the brand has been favourable, or if the manufacturers and dealers advertising has made favourable impression, other things being equal, the recognised brand will be selected from among other unrecognised brands.Creating and Enhancing Brand AwarenessBecause consumers are bombarded everyday by more and more marketing messages, the challenge of creating awareness is considerable ( Aaker, 1996).The best approach for every brand to create and maintain brand awareness depends upon the context but the following do server as good points ( Aaker, 1991 72) Be Different, Memorable An Awareness message should provide a reason to be noticed and it should be memorable. There are many tacks that work but one key is to simply be different and unusual.Involve a slogan or jingle A Slogan or a Jingle can make a big difference. Slogans like it floats or Just do it can back up recall. For a product class like soap, it might be easier to come up with it floats and then Ivory, rather than to name Ivory directly. The link to the slogan might be stronger because it involves a product characterstic that can be visualised. Similarly, a jingle also is vey powerful awareness device.Symbol exposure A symbol can play a study persona in creating and maintaining awareness because it involves a visual image which is much easier to learn and to recall than a word or a phrase.Event Sp onsorship The primary role of most event sponsorship is to crate or maintain awareness. For example, the Benson and Hedges Cricket world cup, the Mercedes super 9- tennis tournament etc.It must be note that the strongest brand are managed not for strategic awareness. It is one thing to be remembered it is quite another to be remembered for the right reason ( Aaker, 1996).Brand LoyaltyEvery companys endeavour is to increase its brand loyalty in order to retain as many consumers as possible and it can be well assumed when we see that in 2000, the NDP Group, an multinational market research company in New York, conducted a survey that half of 20,000 respondents who described themselves as loyal to a company one year were no longer loyal the next. According to Frederic Rechheld, founder of Boston-based consulting firm Bain and Company, the average American company loses half of its customers every five yearsThe next economyBy Elliott Ettenberg, NetLibrary, Inc (2001 34)The Brand Loya lty concept from historic PerspectiveContrary to what some people believe brand loyalty has existed for a long time in the realm of marketing. Copeland (1923) first introduced this concept around 80 years ago. He talks about three ascending stages of brand loyalty-consumer reorganisation ( when the product is recognised and bought from among a soldiery of unrecognised products), consumer preference ( when pervious use or advertising has created a favourable preference in the consumers mind) and consumer insistence. The third stage is the prime of brand loyalty where the consumer approaches the purchase of an article with the attitude that he will accept no substitute ( Copeland, 1923).Different Perceptions of Brand Loyalty Brand Loyalty is the biased behavioural response expressed over time by some decision making unit with respect to one or more alternative brands out of a set of such brands.More recently, the concept of loyalty have evolved further, encompassing a rich diversity of dimensions underlying the relationship that a customer may hold with a brand.Martin et al.,(2004217) referred Olivers statement in his book Loyalty involves a favourable attitude towards the brand or organisation and positive re-purchase intentions. This can be further understood by investigating the element of loyalty.cognitive Loyalty, in which the brand is cognitively compared with alternatives ( generally on startal grounds)emotive loyalty, in which the customer likes the brand or organisation as a result of previous satisfying experiencesConative Loyalty, which take a hops an intention to re-purchase action loyalty, which relates to a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronise a preferred product/services consistently in future despite situational influences and marketing effort having the potential to cause switching behaviour ( Oliver 1999 cited in Martin et al.,(2004217)In (2001) Chaudhuri and Holbroo stated couple of feature article of brand loyalty purchase loy alty and attitudinal loyalty mentioned by mentioned by Marion Maguire(2007), Behavioural, or purchase loyalty consist of repeated purchase of the brand, whereas attitudinal brand loyalty includes a degree to the authors, purchase loyalty leads to greater market share because of higher levels of repeat purchase among their users. It is found in the research that consumers perception about price of brands is not linked to brand loyalty. Another suggestion given by Dick and Basu (1994) says that loyalty related to marketing advantages, such as favourable word of mouth, which, in turn might increase market share.But the findings of DallOlmo Riley et al. (1997) discerned that the attitudinal loyalty of many individual consumers appears to be fickle, According to them, various studies (by Achenbaum, 1982 repeat responses ranging about 50% in individual attitudinal answers (e.g. Taste Nice) at two concomitant times, independent of the attitude scales used and from the length of the inter val between interviews. overall their interpretation was that specific attitudinal beliefs do not seem to be very strongly held but vary stochastically ( in random manner) (DallOlmo Riley et al., 1997)Rothschild (1987) at the university of Wisconsin, evaluated brand loyalty as encompassing only the behavioural aspect. He suggests that a psychological process that may explain brand loyalty is the one of behaviourism. The central concept of behavioural learning theory is that behaviour that is positively reinforced is likely to reoccur while that which is not reinforced, or punished, will be extinguished. Consumers become loyal to brands that are reinforcing to them good decision are reinforces while poor decisions are not ( Rothschild, 1987). Dekimpe et al, (1997) also share Rothschilds (1987) view and say that the approach is justified as behaviour is observable and hence easier to measure.Richard Elliott and Larry Precy quoted Franzen (1999) saying that loyalty brand users have a high degree of bonding with the brand and do not show much of an urge to switch. Its basically the bonding here meant was part of brand equity but it necessarily doesnt need to be a function of brand equity. also if its contribution is there. Loyalty of a brand may be not habitual or it can be the high cost of switching to another brand. But when there is a genuine preferences involved it really contribute to brad equity.Quester et al, (2003) say that the behavioural approach to Brand Loyalty (taken by Rothschild, 1987 Dekimpe et al., 1997) many present an over simplistic view of the construct. Behavioural definitions are insufficient to explain how and why brand loyalty is developed and modified in consumers ( Dick and Basu, 1994 in Quester et al., 2003). Repeatedly buying a brand (behavioural approach) may reflect only the convenience inherent in the repetitive and habitual behaviour rather than any real commitment to the brand purchased (Quester et al., 2003).Habituals as terme d by (Knox 1997) in Quester and Lim., 2003) display only behavipural loyalty and are very likely to switch brands if there routine purchases cycle is disturbed. For habituals and /or spurious loyals. The brand is not closely tied to the consumers belief system, so they can be easily attracted by a competing brand that offers a fail deal, a coupon etc. Behavioural definitions, therefore, essentially fail to bonk between habitual or spurious loyalty and true ( or international) loyalty and it may be misleading to infer brand loyalty from merely overt purchase behaviour (Quester et al.,2003 27).Fournier et al, (1997) have analysed the concept of brand loyalty in new light and have come up with some very interesting insight regarding the same. According to them, (1997) a major assumption while reaching the concept of Brand Loyalty is that loyalty process is a Black and white quality. This tendency towards dichotomy not only precludes attention to loyalty levels and type, but also bl inds the researcher to the value that may exist in relationship classified as disloyal ( Fournier et al. 1997)The research of eight brand loyal coffee drinkers by Fournier et al, (1997) revealed three intriguing loyal consumer-brand relationships namely martial commitment, falling in wonder consumers brand relationships namely martial commitment, falling in love and best friendship. Each of the above relationships share a strong and meaningful life theme connection that adds significant value in the consumers mind.On the other side, Fournier et al ., (1997) also found some rather forcible Non-Loyal Relationships. One of the interviewees shared meaningful relationships with not one, rather three coffee brands. Financial limitations prevented him from bonding exclusively to one brand. By connecting at the level of kinship, a portfolio of brand candidates that at first glance appears as a set of interchangeable substitutes is revealed as a family of meaningful partners in the consum er-brand environment (Fournier et al., 1997 463).Fournier at al, (1997) say that the existing brand loyalty measurement process emphasizes share-of-use over the strength and character of brand relationship form. This approach is flawed in their opinion because As with people expressions of loyalty need not be associated with exclusivity, but with emotional tenor and sincerity of intentions over time. Also, like normal human relationship, brand loyalty may sour extra time and subsequently change.In accepting the power of both Brand and Consumer to affect the relationship, loyalty is better appreciated as a dynamic phenomenon (Fournier et al., 1997 467). A consumer-based conception of loyalty that recognizes multi-brand relationlity and the delicacy of even a strongest of consumer-brand bonds seems more adjust with the realities of todays variety-filled marketplace. (Firat and Venkatesh, 1995 in Fournier et al., 1997)The biggest criticism of the work of Fournier et al, (1997) is act ually declare by their own selves when