Welcome to Nerd Alert, a series of special episodes bridging the gap between marketing academia and practitioners. We're breaking down highly involved, complex research into plain language and takeaways any marketer can use.

In this episode, Elena and Rob explore how the Dirichlet model challenges common beliefs about brand loyalty. They reveal why most consumers aren't deeply loyal to specific brands and why reaching new customers matters more than increasing loyalty.

Topics covered: 

• [01:00] "The Dirichlet: A Comprehensive Model of Buying Behavior"
• [02:00] What products do we buy without brand loyalty?
• [03:45] How brand share predicts buying behavior
• [04:30] Why acquisition drives loyalty, not vice versa
• [05:00] Most buyers are light buyers who purchase infrequently
• [06:00] The shocking truth about Coca-Cola's customer base 

 





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Resources: 
Goodhardt, G. J., Ehrenberg, A. S. C., & Chatfield, C. (1984). The Dirichlet: A comprehensive model of buying behaviour.Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (General), 147(5), 621–655. 


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