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Consumer-Brand Relationships in Rural India: An Assessment of the Dimensions of their Strength

This study explores the dimensions and strength of consumer-brand relationships in rural India, focusing on rural consumer behavior, brand relationship quality, and brand trust. Through in-depth interviews and surveys, it assesses the prevalence and quality of these relationships, revealing insights into the factors influencing brand loyalty and attachment in rural markets. The results highlight the significance of brand trust, commitment, and satisfaction in fostering strong consumer-brand connections, emphasizing the need for tailored marketing strategies to enhance brand loyalty in rural regions.

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Consumer-Brand Relationships in Rural India: An Assessment of the Dimensions of their Strength

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  1. Consumer-Brand Relationships in Rural India: An Assessment of the Dimensions of their Strength Shubhomoy Banerjee Institute of Rural Management Anand, India

  2. Research on CBR • An emerging domain of research in branding literature (Fetscherin and Heinrich, 2015) • Brand considered as an important partner in the consumer-brand relationship dyad (Fournier, 1998;Aggarwal, 2004; Fournier, 2009) • Relationships with brands serve purposes for consumers • Provide a connection with the members of the society, they live in (Belk, et.al, 1989) and providing meanings to the lives of people, gain new social connections (Fournier, 2009)

  3. Assessment of strength of CBR • Relationship Investment • Attachment Aversion • Brand Relationship Quality

  4. Brand Relationship Quality • Has drawn from the relationship marketing paradigm in B-B marketing and services(deWulf et al., 2001; Roberts, et.al, 2003) • Brought into the consumer brand domain by Fournier, 1998 • An integrative framework for studying CBR (Sreejesh & Mohapatra, 2014) • Defined as the indicator of the strength and depth of the relationship between the consumer and the brand (Monga, 2002)

  5. Dimensional Conceptualization of BRQ

  6. Rural India • A recent contextual development (Nielsen, 2011) • A beginning of premium consumption • A move from commodity purchase (e.g. loose oil) to purchase of brands • Changes in rural consumer behaviour in India (Accenture, 2015) • Increased aspirational consumption • Well connected to urban counterparts • Become more discerning • It is not known how the situational characteristics of markets correlate with BRQ

  7. Need for the Study • A fast growing segment of consumers • Differences in psychology and buying patterns (Kashyap, 2012) • Symbolic meanings to brands in rural India are based on the social scenario of which the consumer is a part (Rajagopal, 2010) • A unique juxtaposition Movement towards branded consumption Obstacles in distribution and availability (Dey and Adhikary, 1998; Jha, 2012) Are consumers in rural India able to form strong relationships with their brands?

  8. Research Questions • Are consumers in rural India able to foster strong relationships with their brands? • What are the dimensions of BRQ in rural India? • How are these dimensions of BRQ interrelated? • Are purely functional values derived from a brand, a reason to foster strong relationships with brands? • How are the peculiarities of the particular marketing scenario correlated with BRQ?

  9. Methodology • Exploratory Work Have an idea about the existence of relationships Dimensions of the relationships In-depth Interviews • Empirical phase Based on findings of the exploratory work A village in Anand district of Gujarat (population more than 10000) Survey questionnaire

  10. Structural Model H5a H5b H2 a H2b H1b H2c H1a H1c H4b H4c H3a H3b H4a

  11. Scales Used

  12. Products bought loose (unbranded)

  13. Overall attitude towards branded products

  14. CFA Results CMIN/Df=2.919, RMR=.013, CFI=0.977,RMSEA=.063

  15. Hypotheses Testing

  16. ..... Contd. • In four cases null hypothesis could not be rejected • Possible mediation effect

  17. Test for mediation (Baron & Kenny, 1986) • According to Zhao et.al (2010), a significant value of Sobel’s statistic signifies mediation.

  18. Conclusions • Brand trust showed the highest correlation with commitment based repeat buying • Brand trust mediated the effects of satisfaction • Manifestation of connections with brands through separation distress • Distribution intensity and consistent availability of the brands positively correlated with brand trust and brand satisfaction

  19. Implications • Theoretical Implications Temporality of the stages of relationship formation and maintenance Dimensions of strength do not lead to strong CBR in isolation • Managerial Implications The importance of market specific factors in the formation of strong CBR The need for treating the rural markets as a separate segment for positioning and communicating

  20. Thank You

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