In response to Rob Bellavance's: Brand Loyalty

Rob asked, how much would it take before you switched brands? Are you loyal to one product only?

I would like to tell myself that I am not loyal to one product only but in all reality I do tend to favor certain brands over others. For example when reading Rob's post he mentioned Toyota and Hyundi it brought to mind my preference in cars. Right now I drive a Volkswagen and although it is not the nicest car I have come to really like Volkwagens. I have considered getting a new car but when I look I really only look at other Volkswagens and do not have an interest in buying another make. Although I would like to consider myself a little more open minded than this I do find that I have a strong preference for Volkswagens. I also find myself favoring brands other places as well. Recently I have been looking to buy a new rain coat and I have only looked at coats made by The North Face. I am absolutely positive there are other rain coats out there but I am sold on the fact that I want a North Face rain coat. With this being the case I would say that I absolutely find a product or brand that I like and it is pretty hard to change my opinion from there. Nearly every pair of shoes I have owned in the last 5 years have been Nikes.

However, although I do like to stick to these brands there are certain limitations I do keep in mind. Like many of my peers I am a broke college student and price is a huge factor on my buying capabilities and decisions. Although I would like to buy a new Volkswagen car I need to keep price in mind and they do tend to be pricey. With this being the case if it came down to it and I really needed a new car I would have to settle on the best deal for the money regardless of make or model. This is also the case with the coat I planned to purchase. I have not purchased a coat yet because all the North Face coats I looked at were more money than I wanted to spend. With this being the case it is likely I will find something in the meantime to hold me over and it is likely I will forget about the North Face all together. All and all price is really the only thing that limits me from purchasing brands I am loyal to. If I had excess money to just buy whatever I wanted there is no reason why I wouldn't buy the expensive Volkswagen or the expensive new coat, assuming the quality of the product did not change.

Price is my main concern and what ultimately makes me choose one brand over another. In an ideal world I would always buy the brands I preferred. What factors influence you? Or what in the past has made you choose one brand over another? Or what has caused you to become loyal to a brand or product?

Price Competition

Price competition deals with emphasizing price and matching or beating competitor's prices. In todays economy many people are struggling to make ends meet. With this being case many companies have become more aware of their prices and have adjusted them so they themselves can stay in business. Despite the economy weighing heavily on retail stores these stores need to also keep in mind the online markets as well. In today's society the internet makes almost any item you would ever need available to you in numerous ways and in each of these ways at a different price. Many people can even buy items they are looking for from web sites like Craig's List and Ebay rather than going to the suppliers themselves. Although these items may be slightly used they are still sold for significantly less. With this being the case it makes it extremely difficult for suppliers to compete.

A technique used by stores to stay competitive includes price matching. However, even some stores cannot keep up with online prices. I know, for example, the store I work at will not price match with online prices. This is because often times the online store's prices do not account for shipping and things like that that ultimately need to be factored into the price we charge in the store. The store I work at does price match prices from fliers of other stores and I have also been in numerous stores that say they will price match.

With the Internet being such a prominent force in the way we purchase our goods how can companies that are not online compete with these low prices? What are some other pricing techniques a company could use besides price matching?