Marketing success hinges on defining loyalty

In this context, TNS has developed a tool that allows clients to map out the consumer relationships and commitment to a product and the brands offered within that category.

The Conversion Model has been tried and tested globally, with over 10,000 studies on 300 product categories already conducted.

The philosophy underpinning the model is the need to define brand relationships beyond brand loyalty.

'Loyalty' is what people do; it refers to the likelihood of repurchase based on past behaviour. 'Commitment' is more than that; it is about how people feel; it refers to the likelihood of repurchase based on what's in the consumer's mind.

Just because a person is loyal - buying the brand again and again - does not necessarily mean that they are committed. But committed customers are usually loyal; they need less persuasion to repurchase the brand, they are more resistant to competitive claims, and they are more willing to pay a premium price.

Differences between the sexes
There has been talk of 'metro-sexual' male attitudes for some time now - so is the purchasing behaviour of men and women similar when it comes to buying personal grooming or beauty products? Not just yet, we found out.

Not so surprisingly, when it comes to categories such as shampoos, soaps and skincare, women place more importance on brand choice than men. However, interestingly when it comes to the relationship with their main brand, it is men who are more committed than women.

Simply put, a man may not spend so much time making his brand choice but when he starts using a brand of shampoo or soap and the brand meets his needs, he is less likely to switch brands. Women are a lot more involved in the purchase, but work within an acceptable set of brands - showing the need for a portfolio brand strategy.

Cultural differences
There is a clear difference in approach when it comes to purchasing behaviour amongst Asians and Arabs in categories such as tea, fresh/UHT milk and toothpaste.

Asians display dichotomous purchase behaviour in these categories. While they tend to place low priority on the choice of brand within the category, they tend to be more committed to their current brand than Arabs.

This implies a typical symptom of habit formation, where a brand is purchased mostly for continuity and tends to become a habit over time.

Thus new brands targeting Asians really have their work cut out in terms of getting consumers to switch brand loyalties. However, with today's influx of new expats on an almost daily basis even established brands can't rest easy.

Arabs on the other hand seem to be more discerning in their brand choice within these categories. Keeping their choices open, they are less entrenched to current brands and also place a higher importance of brand choice within the category. Hence even established brands need to ensure novelty in their formats to satisfy the urge for experimentation.

Youth trends
When it comes to categories like shampoos and soaps 15 to 24 year olds place far more importance on brand choice than older age groups.

Marketers need to understand what the hot buttons for the younger generation are - and in other product categories where the youth tend not to place a high importance on brand choice.

TNS Middle East & Africa is currently running a syndicated study using the Conversion Model and their consumption monitoring tool tracker.

With interviews with over 1,200 respondents in over 20 fmcg categories such as toothpaste, skin care, soaps, shampoos, tea, powdered/fresh milk, in both the UAE and KSA, this is a comprehensive database of market mapping for brand equity/strength of consumer relationship.

The Conversion Model

The Conversion Model is a measure of commitment. It is a psychological model of consumer behaviour that measures the strength of the relationship between consumers and brands.

The Conversion Model uses four dimensions to measure commitment. It analyses the needs fit i.e. how satisfied consumers are with the brands they are currently using ; and also looks at their attitude to alternatives i.e. how attractive competitor brands are.

The other dimensions include involvement with the category i.e. how important is brand choice in the market / does it matter? And finally it also measures ambivalence i.e. how much are consumers torn between the appeal of different brands?


What is clear from the Middle East data is that there are significant differences across categories, and by segments - and marketers here would be well advised to take into account those differences when investing behind the hope of building brand relationships.