THE ROLE OF THE PRODUCT ECOSYSTEM İN CREATİNG BRAND LOYALTY: AN ANALYSİS OF THEAPPLE BRAND

Abstract

Along with computer and mobile technologies, era-breaking developments in network connections have brought new marketing strategies to the agenda. In particular, brands that produce information communication technologies bring together all innovative possibilities of digital technologies with consumers. The product ecosystem can be expressed as one of the most important outputs of this innovative process. In this context, the aim of the study is to reveal the role of product ecosystems that can work in sync with each other and provide ease of use to the consumer in many ways, such as wireless data transfer and compatible work, in creating brand loyalty. It is to determine whether the product ecosystem, in addition to elements such as design, innovation and trust, contributes to creating brand loyalty. From this point of view, the concept of product ecosystem and the relationship of brand loyalty were explained theoretically, and then a phenomenological research design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used. In the study in question, data were collected using a semi-structured interview form with 11 people who have an Apple product ecosystem, determined according to purposeful sampling method. During the interviews, the participants; The associations created by the product ecosystem, the emotional and rational benefits it provides, and whether the product ecosystem encourages the purchase of the brand's products again, were asked for the purpose of the study. The data obtained as a result of the interviews were analyzed with the MAXQDA program. It has been observed that the product ecosystem plays an important role in ensuring that consumers trust the brand and repeat the products of that brand in the future. As a result, it has been revealed that the product ecosystem contributes significantly to building brand loyalty.