Hyderabad: In Telangana, tipplers are known for their label loyalty where they prefer only one particular brand and do not change their preference of brand frequently. Rival companies, however, try very hard to attract customers to choose their brand, but they hardly ever succeed, according to liquor associations.
In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, tipplers are easy to lure, if there is an attractive price drop in the products of other brands whereas in Telangana, tipplers can be called hard core brand loyalists due to their nature of sticking to one brand.
M. Kameshwar Rao, General Secretary of Association of Liquor and Beer Supplies said, “Particularly in Telangana region to change the customer preference from one brand to another is extremely difficult. The loyalty for a particular brand is very strong. In a price sensitive market like Andhra Pradesh, if the customer gets the alcohol of a particular brand for Rs 10 less than the brand which he was consuming he will try it. If a brand gets acceptance by the customers in Telangana region it will run successfully for many years irrespective of new brands coming into the market.”
Cigars are no different, in gaining brand loyalty from the smokers and some of the experts mention that this has been a growing phenomenon across all kinds of objects, be it clothes, gadgets and other electric appliances these days. Vikram Mansingh, who is the owner of a liquor outlet in Mehdipatnam said, “In Hyderabad, generally brand loyalty is common for every article. The brand loyalty especially for cigarettes and liquor is very high.
“The scenario of a Hyderabad customer is changing in recent times, especially in the high price range. The reasons for a shift in the customer preference are due to his attitude for trying something new. Secondly, it is due to the increase in spending power where a customer can afford more. However, here people are flexible.”
