Importance Of Brand Loyalty In Higher Education Institutions

Over the last few decades, the previously secluded environment of the Higher Education has been forced to adjust to a more commercialised world. With the continuous rise in the number of higher education institutions competing for student and faculty talent, every potential advantage that an institution has counts. This competition has created a strong need for Higher Education institutions to differentiate themselves. Owing to the increased competition in higher education, branding has become more important in promoting an institution’s reputation, as well as generating extra revenue for the institution through the sale of trademarked merchandises.

According to Wolpert (1999), branding began a thousand years ago “when artisans and tradesmen started putting identifying marks on their products – both as a point of pride and as a sign of quality” (p. 2). Herr (2001) stated, “In today’s higher education landscape, college and university leaders may well consider principles of brand management to assure their positions vis-à-vis their competitors” (p. 23). Distinguishing an institution depends on knowing the core features of the category which the institution operates in, and what makes them stand out from the rest of the institutions in their category.

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Brand loyalty is based on an emotional involvement that develops between the consumer and the brand. The consumer’s perception is that the brand fulfils some kind of physical need or emotional want in such a unique way that some kind of emotion is evoked during the purchase process and while using the brand. For example, a consumer will choose to do a postgraduate program in the same university they had attended based on the experience they had while they pursued their undergraduate