Price, quality, and style are all important characteristics in marketing your product, but through my interviews, I found that quality reigns as the most important of the three. Brand recognition grows with quality assurance. I interviewed three mothers who shared similar opinions on brand loyalty and quality. One woman I interviewed mentioned her bittersweet relationship with workout clothing brands, like Athleta and LuLuLemon. She buys yoga pants and workout tops from these brands for her "on the go days", even though they come at a steep price. She mentioned that although they are expensive, they are worth the price to her, because she knows they will fit her correctly and they also make her feel better about herself and encourage her to workout more often. She also mentioned they have a great return/exchange/replacement policy, which helped develop her brand loyalty to these companies. From there, I concluded that this segment of the market is generally brand loyal and less price sensitive when it comes to quality.
Method of payment was a very interesting topic to cover. In today's market, most people aren't carrying cash on them on a daily basis because it has become much easier to carry around a credit card. In addition, online shopping has become much more popular and convenient for shoppers. One woman I interviewed mentioned the price discrepancy she has noticed between shopping in store and online, mainly referring to Amazon. She said she is able to cut costs from things like groceries, toiletries, and beauty supplies by ordering them online on Amazon.
One interviewee made a very interesting point that stuck out to me. This woman stated that she would rather pay for something with a higher price but made with higher quality, than purchase something cheaper that would need to be replaced. The quality assurance makes up for the price, especially if this purchase is something one would use multiple times.
I found this segment surprising because I realized the relationship between brand loyalty and price sensitivity. However, I'm not sure if I learned enough from these interviews regarding my opportunity. What I did take from these interviews is the importance of brand loyalty, and it has made me think about how I can adapt that trait to work with my idea.
Meredith,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how you found through your interviews that good quality is the number one desired trait for brands. I am just like this and usually pick the best quality product because if it lasts long, it usually is worth it for me. One clothing brand that has such strong brand loyalty that excels in this is Patagonia. Not only are their products made of good quality, but they also will receive a damaged or ripped product of theirs and fix it for their customers free of charge. This type of product longevity is essentially forever for however long Patagonia is around.
Meredith,
ReplyDeleteI also found that quality tends to win out when it comes to purchasing a product. Many of the people I interviewed were more willing to spend more money when they knew they could trust the quality of the product. Its funny to me that no matter what product you're dealing with, quality assurance seems to outweigh price sensitivity.
Hey Meredith,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that for most products, quality is the most important factor. But I do believe there are certain products where cost is the most important factor, such as, cars, dorms, etc. Your interviewee makes a great point with quality assurance, especially with products that are used multiple times. As you stated brand loyalty means a lot and anyway you can create brand loyalty will lead to a successful company.