Branding with a consumer focus

Managing a profitable brand relationship is critical as such effort results in brand preference, positive word-of-mouth, brand engagement, willingness to pay more for the brand, and repurchase intention. In one study, we demonstrate that customers establish a sense of oneness with new and unfavorable brands when the brand serves as a self-presentational strategy: self-presentation by brand. In another study, we found that a branding strategy that considers influencing brand preference and willingness to pay should incorporate customers’ temporal focus into authentic and aspirational branding considerations, and one-on-one marketing approach to branding. To further understand and to avoid a love-becomes-hate effect from a positive brand relationship caused by a service failure, we show that a quick recovery that follows an exclusive brand offering positively impacts on the brand relationship among betrayed consumers, but is not so effective among highly disappointed consumers. Thus, apart from responding to customer complaints with an apology and resolving problems promptly, brand managers can provide highly betrayed customers with an exclusive brand offering that requires them to return to the brand in the near future. As such, brand offerings can serve as a means to treat them as valuable customers and restore the profitable brand relationship.