Mapping the Clientâs Brand Associations Networks Using Brand Concept Map (BCM) Method. Case of Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc)

Kazemi, Hamid; Osanlou, Bahareh; Abouei, Nasrin

doi:10.35050/JIPM010.2018.008

Mapping the Clientâs Brand Associations Networks Using Brand Concept Map (BCM) Method. Case of Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc)

Authors

Hamid Kazemi

Bahareh Osanlou

Nasrin Abouei

10.35050/JIPM010.2018.008

Abstract

One of the key components of brand equity is associations that consumers have about the brand and these associations will guide them to choose the brand. These associations usually considered as organized network involves models of gathering the networks in minds and determine the brand value for consumers as a brand image. The aim of doing this research is eliciting and mapping the network of IranDoc (Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology) from the perspective of its consumers. To reach this aim, at this research a new method named Brand Concept Mapping (BCM) has been used in order to eliciting brand associations concept map from consumers mind, aggregating individuals map and mapping a consensus brand map that has been obtained with one by one interviews with clients and finally has been led to identify the clients perception of the IranDoc. The statistical society of this research include all of the peoples that recourse to IranDoc’s search information forum for receiving research services and the sample for surveying has been chosen with convenience sampling method. It is found that IranDoc client’s mental associations network involves central and desired associations such as “thesis internal database” and “suitable service offering”. Considering the limitation of marketing research that has been done about the brand of institute offering research services, understanding and managing the IranDoc associations and key and latent factors that affect formation of these associations in order to improve the service quality according to them cause improvement of IranDoc image

Keywords

brand association

Brand image

Brand maps

Brand concept map

Brand association network