Research Planing Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Planing Proposal - Essay Example To gain competitive advantage, companies need to find the factors that influence buying decision and loyalty of customers, especially in the masstige brand category which is fairly new to commerce, being only half-century or so old (as a recognised category). As the differences between the brands tighten and the differences in the prices gets closer, the customer's perceptions of brand and price, as well as the marketability of a particular masstige product become of increased importance to companies which exist between prestigious and mass-market categories. The rationale is that, if research can better understand the impacts of brand and price on customer purchase habits in relationship to the company marketability, a stronger framework for customer relationships and building customer perceptions towards the masstige products can be built. The ultimate goal of doing so is to promote better marketing procedures for companies in this 'middle class' bracket. Shimp (1999) defined a brand as a label for describing any object of concerted marketing effort. In the context of services marketing therefore, this label can be a name, sign, term, symbol or a design (Krishnan and Hartline, 2001). Brands however can mean different things to different people. These differences largely stem from the way and manner brands can be perceived or understood. A cursory review of the history of brands informs us that customers' perceptions of brands have not been static. It has evolved over the years as understanding of the concept deepened. Clifton (2000) recalled the days when brands were perceived as either bottles of coca cola or cans of Kellogg's and compared it to modern times when the concept can be applied to anything and everybody. Amber (2000) has defined "branding" as an intangible asset built by marketing, and which exists largely in the heads of stakeholders, especially those of the end user. The author further pointed out that if a company got its brand equity right, profits should largely take care of it. The import of this statement can be understood from the components that make the equity of a brand. These are brand awareness and brand image. A brand that people have good knowledge about and can readily recall with favourable associations is an enduring asset to whoever owns it. Furthermore, it would have favourable image and therefore well perceived. Such a brand can be said to have a higher equity or value. It is not too difficult to sell products and services with this brand name tacked on it. Higher volumes of sales at minimal costs transcend into higher profits. From a financial viewpoint, Aaker (1996) defined branding as a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol that add to or subtract from the value provided by a service to a firm's customers. He further gave the main