Introduction
Brand Preference is the measure of Brand Loyalty in which a consumer will choose a
particular brand in presence of competing brands, but will accept substitutes if that brand is
not available. Brand Loyalty refers to the extent of the faithfulness of consumers to a
particular brand, expressed through their repeat purchases, irrespective of the marketing
pressure generated by the competing brands.
In every product category, consumers have more choices, more information and higher
expectations than ever before. To move consumers from trial to preference, brands need to
deliver on their value proposition, as well as dislodge someone else from the consumer's
existing preference set.
Preference is a scale, and brands move up, down and even off that scale with and without a
vigilant brand management strategy. Pricing, promotional deals and product availability all
have tremendous impact on the position of brand in the consumer’s preference set. If all
things are equal, the best defense is to make the brand more relevant to consumers than the
competition.
The brands potential can only be fulfilled by continually reinforcing its perceived quality,
upmarket identity and relevance to the consumer. The same branding activities that drive
awareness also drive preference. And, while awareness alone will not sustain preference, it
will improve the brand’s potential for building and maintaining preference.
With a great story and a large enough investment, awareness can be attained rather quickly. It
takes time, however, and constant revaluation to build brand preference. Aristotle professed,
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” Attaining and
sustaining preference is an important step on the road to gaining brand loyalty. The ability to
generate more revenue, gain greater market share and beat off the competition is the reward
given by consumer toward particular brand.
Brand preference is the Selective demand for a company's brand rather than a product; the
degree to which consumers prefer one brand over another. In an attempt to build brand
preference advertising, the advertising must persuade a target audience to consider the
advantages of a brand, often by building its reputation as a long-established and trusted name
in the industry. If the advertising is successful, the target customer will choose the particular
brand over other brands in any category.
The frequency of repeat purchase in case of two wheeler market is very low. So, the measure
of Loyalty is not easy. The brand loyalty of the customer can be identified with the help of
how they promote the brand to others, i.e. Word of Mouth Communication. Even though
competitors are low in the two wheeler’s segment, competition is very high due to the
availability of different product categories under different brands.
The Customers preference among these brands also not easy as the product possesses similar
features in all the brands. So, the customer satisfaction determines the loyalty. Customer will
get satisfied only when their expectations met or exceed. It is an after purchase behavior. To
analyze the Brand Preference and Loyalty, it is necessary to study both the consumer’s
buying behavior and after purchase behavior.
Statement of the Problem
The changing customer perception because of the availability of variety of products in two
wheeler segment along with the growing number of competitors had a major impact in the
preference of a particular brand. The customers’ decision making process also changes as
their buying pattern changes.
The players in the two wheeler market in the Vellore are Bajaj, Hero Honda, TVS, Yamaha,
Suzuki, Mahindra, BSA, Ultra Motors and Royal Enfield. Each and every company has
different varieties of product category in the two wheelers, which gives lot of options for the
customers in Vellore. The fast developing technology and the growing economic stat