Overcome Your "Brand Loyalty" and Buy Better, Cheaper Stuff

When we like a company that puts out a good product we become loyal to the brand, don't we? What we see as brand loyalty is actually more the effects of comfort and laziness than anything else. Furthermore, we'll defend that comfort to the death. This results in some bad buying decisions, which is especially bad come holiday shopping season. Here's how to overcome those problems, get better products, and save yourself some money in the process.

The Problem

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ScienceDaily points out that brand loyalty isn't so much about staying true to a particular company, but rather defending one's own opinions and choices:

When companies get consumers motivated about their products, they are just as motivated to protect the brand as they are themselves. So it's really more about the self than the brand. When people can self-affirm through other means and activities, they're not defensive at all.

It also doesn't help that we will cling to bad ideas if we're invested in them. We'll knowingly ride a horse off a cliff just because it seemed like the right way to go when we began. When we put money into a product and time into using it, so long as we don't immediately hate it we'll often become more attached because we've bothered to learn it. You may hate your smartphone's operating system, but you've purchased a bunch of apps for it and you know how to use it so why switch? That's the dilemma of brand loyalty. You become lost in the comfort of familiarity. Harry Beckworth, writing for Psychology Today, elaborates: