Abstract

Prior research finds that the more attached salespeople are to a brand they sell, the more effort they extend on behalf of the brand, thus improving sales performance. However, high salesperson brand attachment may also have undesirable consequences that are only evident when viewed from the customers’ perspective. We argue that brand attachment can have a “blinding effect” on salespeople, leading them to adopt emotionally laden sales strategies that diminish customer brand trust and, by extension, their intent to purchase the brand. We explore these ideas using data collected from salespeople in the direct selling industry. The data collected includes 20 exploratory interviews with salesperson-customer dyads, a field study of 153 salespeople and 98 matched customers, and analyses that allow for the presence of non-linear, moderated effects. The salesperson data provide evidence of a brand attachment bright side (affirming prior research findings) while the dyadic data confirm the existence of a dark side that emerges when salespeople employ inauthentic selling strategies. The study findings point to the potential perils of internal marketing investments directed at enhancing salesperson-brand bonds.

摘要

先前的研究发现，销售人员对他们销售的品牌的依恋程度越高，他们为品牌付出的努力就越多，从而提高销售业绩。然而，高度的销售人员品牌依恋也可能产生不良后果，只有从客户的角度来看，这些后果才会明显。我们认为，品牌依恋会对销售人员产生“盲目效应”，导致他们采取充满情感的销售策略，从而削弱客户对品牌的信任，进而削弱他们购买品牌的意图。我们使用从直销行业销售人员那里收集的数据来探索这些想法。收集的数据包括对销售人员-客户二人组的 20 次探索性访谈、对 153 名销售人员和 98 名匹配客户的实地研究，以及允许存在非线性、缓和效应的分析。销售人员数据提供了品牌依恋光明面的证据（证实了先前的研究结果），而二元数据证实了当销售人员采用不真实的销售策略时出现的阴暗面的存在。研究结果指出了旨在加强销售人员与品牌联系的内部营销投资的潜在危险。