We have noted that customers who purchase a branded
product often do so with the support of other users, which
leads to the possibility of brand-focused interpersonal
bonds. Social support from such relationships may, in turn,
influence increased personal investment in a customer’s
consumption of the product and the brand. To the extent that
the company behind the brand facilitates such interactions,
the customer base is likely to reciprocate with increased
appreciation for the company and a sense of being an important
part of a larger set of social phenomena.
Part of the reason for the longevity of customer-centered
relationships may be their role as exit barriers. Customers
value the relationships available to them as a result of brand
ownership. For some customers, the expectation of developing
these types of relationships motivates initial product
acquisition; they are looking for a sense of community.
Other customers acquire the brand for more strictly utilitarian
or self-expressive reasons and discover the benefits of
brand community in the course of consumption. Community
ties become exit barriers as owners realize that valued interpersonal
relationships would be altered or lost if they were
to defect to another brand. Positive relationships with marketers
and bonding with personal possessions also create
exit barriers. The same elements that lend longevity to successful
interpersonal and community relationships, such as
reciprocity (Gouldner 1960; Sahlins 1972), investment,
commitment, interdependence, and integration in social networks
(Lund 1985), exist in the community of brand, product,
company, and customers.