Customer experience, not brands will be on the iron throne

The author will challenge the ancient "brand-related" thinking, submitting that somehow companies are still in control of what consumers think or even how customers act.

The notion of proclaiming that brands are dead once the Internet arrives is neither novel nor new (e.g., Shapiro, Carl, & Varian, 1998). Researchers still propose that in a world where consumers can assess product and service quality through more "trustworthy" sources, such as their fellow users, peers, social media, and experts, brands will become less important (Simonson & Rosen, 2014). This is contradicted by researchers highlighting that the digital brands, such as Google, Amazon, or Apple, are more valuable than ever and that the product is the ultimate brand (e.g., Skibsted & Hansen, 2014). Others predict that new technologies,...

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