Company reputation bigger than brands

A company's reputation has more influence on customer loyalty than its brand image, a University of Auckland study of business markets has found.

Marketing Professor Roderick Brodie and recent MCom graduate Anca Cretu studied the sale of hair-care products to salons, rather than focusing on consumer goods markets as much previous research has done.

They found while corporate reputation dominated customer perceptions of value and consequent loyalty to a company and its products, views on the quality of the goods offered were more strongly influenced by brand image.

Brodie said it was common for a company names to be used as an umbrella brand while brand image tended to be specific to one product.

"Companies cannot ignore the impact of their reputation on their customers' buying decisions."

In some cases, people were loyal to a company but had limited awareness of its brands.

"Internationally, there is a relatively low awareness of the brand Zespri, yet the kiwifruit company is enjoying great success," said Brodie. That was the result of loyalty shown by retailers which, in turn, sprang from the company's highly regarded supply-chain management system.

* University of Auckland Business School research has found a consumer's gender identity - whether they consider themselves masculine or feminine-matters more than their biological gender when it comes to brands, products, advertising or buying decisions.

The research, by masters student Emily Laurence, found masculine women preferred masculine brands and feminine women preferred feminine brands.

But men chose masculine brands regardless of their gender identity, the study found.