Trust, religiosity, and relationship marketing: a conceptual overview of consumer brand loyalty

Abstract

Purpose Over the years, a considerable depth of research has established the link between trust, commitment and relationship marketing and its relevance to consumers’ brand preferences. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research on how they are linked to religiosity. Accordingly, this paper aims to address the palpable gap. Design/methodology/approach This paper is conceptual and draws from the eclectic review of the extant literature that revolves around the key themes associated with the topic. Findings The paper emphasises the significance of trust and religiosity in consumers’ commitment to specific market offerings and brands which invariably strengthen relationship marketing. A model entitled Brand-faith Relationship model (BFR) is proposed to understand brand positioning in the marketplace in relation to faith. With this model, a four-category typology of brand position scenarios is suggested in this paper. Passive brand-faith relationship, faith trust established in the absence of brands, brand loyalty without any faith associations and brand loyalty, with positive brand-faith relationship. Practical implications This paper has significant implications for brand management in relation to segmentation, targeting and the positioning of brands in the marketplace. It also raises marketers’ consciousness on the potency of trust embedded in consumers’ faith/religiosity in their brand preferences. Originality/value This paper explores the concepts of trust and consumers’ brand choices within the relationship marketing literature vis-à-vis the role of religion, which is rarely examined.