Recognition remains important
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2025 10:40 am
Choices and individuality are increasing everywhere. But Dr. David Bosshart, Managing Director of the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute for Business and Society, points out that people can only be individuals in their role as social beings – we all remain somewhat dependent on the recognition of others. Social media, for example: "Social media thrives on me revealing a lot; only then do I get a lot back," Bosshart said in an interview. Therefore, the many online and offline options create pressure to conform, to present ourselves the way we think others want us to. The phenomenon of social desirability, long recognized in academic psychology, estonia phone number data has not gone out of fashion; it's just that different content and additional channels are at play.
Support and autonomy
Dealing with brands is not just about self-expression, but also about commitment, according to the Cologne-based Rheingold Institute. The starting point for this approach is the different forms of commitment people form in everyday life. Each form of commitment is accompanied by typical behavior and certain expectations: the commitment to a spouse is different from the commitment to an employer, the commitment to friends is different from the commitment to a football club. The same applies to our commitment to brands.
Stefan Grünewald, Managing Director of the Rheingold Institute, postulates a typical "longing for attachment" for each form of attachment. For example, savings bank customers desire to be able to entrust themselves to the care of the bank, whereas customers of cooperative banks and cooperative banks desire to be part of a community. Furthermore, from the perspective of the Rheingold researchers, our attachment behavior is characterized by a central conflict in which we all constantly find ourselves: that between dependence and autonomy.
On the one hand, everyone seeks a trusting relationship, but on the other hand, hardly anyone wants to be dependent on outside help and have their autonomy questioned. For companies, this means that loyal customers don't want to be constantly reminded of their loyalty to the brand.
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As many relationships as people
GfK's approach also focuses on our relationships with our brands. The assumption is that consumer relationships with brands develop analogously to interpersonal relationships, thus changing over time and sometimes even ending. The key to the success of any brand is the emotional strength of its fans' relationships with it. For example, GfK researchers found that so-called fast-moving consumer brands with strong relationships were able to increase their market share by value and boost their price premium index between 2010 and 2012. Brands with weak relationships were not able to do this.
Influence of the markets
In industrialized markets, many consumers have the luxury of choosing the product that's exactly right for them, one that not only works but also helps them express themselves. Status has long since ceased to be a priority in the saturated markets of industrialized countries, says Stephan Teuber, Managing Director of GIM Gesellschaft für innovative Marktforschung (GIM).
Support and autonomy
Dealing with brands is not just about self-expression, but also about commitment, according to the Cologne-based Rheingold Institute. The starting point for this approach is the different forms of commitment people form in everyday life. Each form of commitment is accompanied by typical behavior and certain expectations: the commitment to a spouse is different from the commitment to an employer, the commitment to friends is different from the commitment to a football club. The same applies to our commitment to brands.
Stefan Grünewald, Managing Director of the Rheingold Institute, postulates a typical "longing for attachment" for each form of attachment. For example, savings bank customers desire to be able to entrust themselves to the care of the bank, whereas customers of cooperative banks and cooperative banks desire to be part of a community. Furthermore, from the perspective of the Rheingold researchers, our attachment behavior is characterized by a central conflict in which we all constantly find ourselves: that between dependence and autonomy.
On the one hand, everyone seeks a trusting relationship, but on the other hand, hardly anyone wants to be dependent on outside help and have their autonomy questioned. For companies, this means that loyal customers don't want to be constantly reminded of their loyalty to the brand.
Whitepaper Conversion Rate - 5 Hacks for More Sales
As many relationships as people
GfK's approach also focuses on our relationships with our brands. The assumption is that consumer relationships with brands develop analogously to interpersonal relationships, thus changing over time and sometimes even ending. The key to the success of any brand is the emotional strength of its fans' relationships with it. For example, GfK researchers found that so-called fast-moving consumer brands with strong relationships were able to increase their market share by value and boost their price premium index between 2010 and 2012. Brands with weak relationships were not able to do this.
Influence of the markets
In industrialized markets, many consumers have the luxury of choosing the product that's exactly right for them, one that not only works but also helps them express themselves. Status has long since ceased to be a priority in the saturated markets of industrialized countries, says Stephan Teuber, Managing Director of GIM Gesellschaft für innovative Marktforschung (GIM).