Application of group psychology to the brand community programme: Guidelines for creating a strong brand community

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to draw the attention of researchers to several phenomena pertaining to the behaviour of an individual in a group that can significantly contribute to the theory of customer loyalty. This study investigates the application of group psychology to the theory of customer loyalty with the aim of generating guidelines for creating and maintaining strong customer clubs and brand communities. Based on the analyses of the conditions for raising collective consciousness and the case studies of Harley-Davidson and BMW’s marketing strategies, this paper develops guidelines for creating strong brand communities. The paper equips managers with guidelines for creating customer club and brand community programmes to achieve their specified goals. The principles of group psychology provide material for elaborating the theory of customer club and practically improving the functionality of brand communities.