Strategy To Increase Sales Of Repertoire Brands

The preferred strategy to increase sales of a repertoire brand is to seek new customers in order to gain a larger market share.

First and foremost, many marketers considered brand loyalty as the central theme in formulating marketing strategy for the various market types. Organizations with larger base of 'loyal customers' have been associated with greater profitability and higher rates of return of investment (Buzzell et al. 1975, p. 98).

The measurement of brand loyalty varies in different market types and repertoire markets exhibits characteristics of mixed loyalty. Loyalty to a single brand is rare. In addition, there are significant variations in terms of brand loyalty (Tranberg and Hansen 1981, p. 106), as well as purchasing patterns of consumer goods (Porter 1974, p. 435).

In an environment of many competing brands, a repertoire product is identical to its competitors; it has been shown that most customers are "polygamous" and they seldom stay loyal to one brand (Ehrenberg and Scriven 1998, p. 1). Moreover, most customers switch brands to seek variety, and purchasing pattern is mainly determined by promotion, brand choice and purchase acceleration (Currim and Schneider 1991, p. 108).

In fact, there are minimal differences between competitive brands and the profile of brand users (Kennedy & Ehrenberg 2000, p. 3). Hence, we can deduce from the above that repertoire brands compete in a single mass market with minimal (or without) brand segmentation. This has been concluded in studies by Hammond, Ehrenberg and Goodhardt (1996, p. 48) and Kennedy and Ehrenberg (2000, p. 3).

Finally, as Hammond, Ehrenberg and Goodhardt (1996, p. 48) notes, "All the world's your oyster"; and from our understanding of the nature of repertoire market, we can conclude that "mass marketing" strategy is the preferred strategy to increase sales and gain market share through seeking new customers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Marketing Association 2006, Dictionary of marketing terms.

Bernard, KN 1987, 'Functional practice and conceptual function - the inherent dichotomy of marketing', Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 73-82.

Buzzell, RD, Gale, BT, Sultan, RGM 1975, 'Market share - a key to profitability', Harvard Business Review, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 97-106.

Currim, IS & Schneider, LG 1991, 'A taxonomy of consumer purchase strategies in a promotion intensive environment', Marketing Science,