Types of Customer Loyalty:

1. Supplier Loyalty:

Many customers are not only loyal to a particular brand, but also loyal to particular supplier, a type of customer known as hostage i.e., somebody who has no choice but to be a customer of a particular brand or supplier. Such a situation could occur in a small village community where there is only a shop selling perhaps just one brand of bread. A customer who is without transport could be forced, if they really want bread beans, to be loyal to that one brand and that one supplier. The term introduced for this is PSEUDO-LOYALTY.

2. Supra-Loyalty:

Supra-loyalty is a term that can be applied to those who are extremely loyal to an organization, product or service. In the case of loyalty to an organization, that have normally build up a personal relationship with the organization over a period of time or in these of product/service, their identify themselves with it. It is as if they have internalized relationship and consider themselves almost part of the organization instead of being a customer.

3. De-loyalty:

A customer who makes a deliberate decision to move to another organization because he or she has been let down by an organization that they were previously loyal can be described as being DE-LOYAL. This is not same as disloyalty, which suggests that it is the customer who is doing something wrong. In the case of de-loyalty, it is the organization which has let the customer down. There is evidence that people are willing to forgive one mistake or one case of poor service. Customer loyalty can be retained even after a mistake provided that rectification (an apology) is speedily forthcoming. However, if a super-loyal customer becomes disenchanted, they may take their business else where, in effect becoming de-loyal. if they are very disappointed they may become ANTI-LOYAL, seek retribution against the organization.

4. Disloyalty:

It is a mute point as to whether a customer can actually be disloyal. Customers owe nothing, in terms of loyalty to suppliers. Many customers may feel that they are being disloyal if they go else where but feeling disloyal is not the same as being disloyal. The only obligation actually placed on the customer is to render payment for the product or service provided by payment of monetary and other terms.

Organizations, having a responsibility to their customers, can be disloyal too. Disloyalty is not providing a product or service deliberately to a previously loyal customer. An example of this would be an organization that treated a new customer better, deliberately or unintentionally than the existing customers. In this case, the organization would be being disloyal to relationship that had been built up. If the existing customer decides to go elsewhere, then they would be making a perfectly valid and proper decision. Disloyalty implies an act and not the customer is capable of such an act. The customer may be a – loyal, de-loyal or even anti-loyal but never disloyal.