Marketing Management Brand Community

Question: Discuss about theMarketing Managementfor Brand Community. Answer: Introduction Brand communities are those groups of people who share their intereststowards a particular brand and their significant traits like consciousness, traditions and a sense of ethical responsibility. Consumers mostly shape into these communities to share their brand experiences and stand for aunified group that mirrors the brands values.Brand communities generally consist of a brand, which exclusively distinguishes its consumer base and procedures for consumers to connect in a public event of the brand (Habibi, Laroche,and Richard 2014). Every brand has their exclusive defining qualities that their consumer base also reflects and the situation is vice versa. For instance, Harley-Davidson riders reflect the freedom, individuality and rebellious image of the brand in their leather attires. Issues Brand Managers, when trying to identify a brand community or its members, face serious problems due to different definitions of the same concept by various authors.Muniz and OGuinn provided the first definition in 2001, who argued that these communities are comprised of three core components: shared awareness, traditions and beliefs, and a sense of ethical responsibility(Habibi, Laroche, and Richard 2014). However, this definition is only apt for a handful of consumer products like Harley-Davidson, Apple Inc, etc. It excludes feelings like shared community in a brand. For instance, Starbucks lovers and regular consumers feel a sense of community towards fellow lovers, excluding ethical responsibility sense. Consumers frequently visiting a shop most likely feel a sense of identification with fellow regular consumers.This sense goes beyond the basic brand loyalty and entails social comparison and distinction (Stratton and Northcote 2014). Past brand communities, entrepreneurs have also defined the emerging purchasers tribes: agencies of humans emotionally linked by equivalent consumption standards and treatment, who employ the social linking price of merchandise and repair to generate a group and convey identification (Cova,Kozinets and Shankar 2012). They distribute their concentration and generate an equivalent social universe mature with its possession of principles, rituals, language and hierarchy. Difference between a tribe and a community are: The community is constructed around a precise brand or product The tribe specializes in the connection between its members the patrons (Taute and Sierra 2014). The concept of consumer tribes clearly goes back to the 1980s: French sociologist Maffesoli claimed that in post-modern society individuals built tribes to interchange missing social constructions and a lot of those tribes comprised comprehensive social consumption rehearsals. As antique automobile owners loved their items collectively, they recognised each other based on the proprietor ship of an antique vehicle. Brand communities alternatively are not thinking about a vast product class, however on much targeted manufacturers. Probably, brand communities are subsections of tribes. Naturally, the two perceptions are connected, however targeted: The brand communities make a specialization of the brand, a tribe on a much broader product kind. In different words, if entrepreneurs centre of attention is particularly on their own brand community, they are at hazard of no longer attaining out of other tribe individuals, and possibly distancing tribe and brand community contributors. Correctly, it is customarily most vital to centre the attention now not just on one tribal assembly website as extraordinary tribal assemblies include exceptional attitudes to a variety of brands (Goulding Shankar and Canniford 2013). Absence test is applied in situations by brands that want to test brand loyalty and come backif possible with a bang. In such situations, brand communities might break away, move on to some other product (in case of products having multiple competitors), and continue as a community. In case of popular and powerful brand, which no substitute can match up to, the brand community would break up and find a substitute, but would no more interact as a brand community, as the other brands symbolic power is not as powerful as the original product and cannot garner equal devotion.It is the function that works, and not the brand name. The USP or Unique Selling Proportion of a product or a brand is the kind of service it can provide and how well it can cater to the needs and preferences of consumers. In that case, absence test does not work for all (Marzocchi, Morandin and Bergami 2013). Diversification test is applied where absence test does not work. This test is applied to every brand community to pass off like a brand community. It is actually the testing of brand loyalty, not brand community. This test is to see if a corporation or franchise assembles a new and diverse merchandise, then how would the customers behave, would they accept it and include it in the existing brand community, or reject it totally. Accepting would mean the customers are really a part of the brand community. For instance, Apple have a diverse range of products and a string loyal customer base. They fit the criteria of brand loyalty. If the brand loyalty transcends a particular product then the function of the brand community fits; if it does not then it is clear that product is central to the brand and instead of brand community an activity-based community functions.It is thus evident that the diversification test also is hypothetical like the absence test, and does not fulfil the requir ements of identifying a brand community (Kim, Phelps and Lee 2013). Recommendations and Conclusion Identifying a brand community needs identifying the conditions, purpose and governing situations in communities. Brand communities must have a sense of emotional safety, belonging and identification. The influencing factor must be present from both the community and member's side. Adding value to the community members in turn adds value to the whole community. Brands must keep in mind that joining existing conversations increases opportunities of better engagement with the customers, in turn building a better brand name and community. Judging the direction of the brand is crucial to understand if it is actually a functioning community or not. The whole process asks for time and patience, and understanding of consumers. References Taute, H. and Sierra, J., 2014. Brand tribalism: an anthropological perspective.Journal of Product Brand Management,23(1), pp.2-15. Cova, B., Kozinets, R. and Shankar, A., 2012.Consumer tribes. Routledge. Goulding, C., Shankar, A. and Canniford, R., 2013. Learning to be tribal: facilitating the formation of consumer tribes.European Journal of Marketing,47(5/6), pp.813-832. Habibi, M.R., Laroche, M. and Richard, M.O., 2014. Brand communities based in social media: How unique are they? Evidence from two exemplary brand communities.International Journal of Information Management,34(2), pp.123-132. Habibi, M.R., Laroche, M. and Richard, M.O., 2014. The roles of brand community and community engagement in building brand trust on social media.Computers in Human Behavior,37, pp.152-161. Kim, H., Phelps, J.E. and Lee, D., 2013. The Social Cognitive Approach to Consumers' Engagement Behavior in Online Brand Community.International Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications,5(2). Marzocchi, G., Morandin, G. and Bergami, M., 2013. Brand communities: loyal to the community or the brand?.European Journal of Marketing,47(1/2), pp.93-114. Stratton, G. and Northcote, J., 2014. When totems beget clans: The brand symbol as the defining marker of brand communities.Journal of Consumer Culture, p.1469540514528194.