Consumer-Company Identification. Beyond Relationship Marketing.

Abstract

Companies are constantly trying to build long term, intense and meaningful relationships with their customers. Traditionally, the relationship marketing has analyzed how companies increase consumers' loyalty, while recently marketing literature is analyzing how relationships based on identification constitute an additional step which implies that consumers enthusiastically promote the company, given that for those consumers their link with the company is so important that explain part of their identity. Using premises derived from the theories of social identity, branding and reference groups, in this paper we analyze the concept of consumer-company identification as an ideal link of the company with its customers, studying the bases and key elements that support this relationship, and providing orientation to its implementation in the company.