In today's competitive world marketing of products and services has become a challenge for the marketers. Corporates are constantly in search of finding a solution for marketing problems. Many researchers have found that it is prudent to retain the existing customers than to create new customers. In such circumstances the retention of existing customers has been the core function of marketers. The retention of customers is dependent upon the level of satisfaction for the customers and how loyal they are to a particular brand. In this article the authors have evolved the concept of brand loyalty life cycle as a key to successful marketing at various stages. It also elaborates the expectations of the customers and steps to be taken by the marketers to retain the existing customers.

Today's market has changed from the traditional sellers' market to a buyers' market. In the early days sellers enjoyed monopoly and therefore the buyers had to accept the goods as it is. The market was seller-directed. The sellers determined the price. However the market has witnessed a paradigm shift in the recent days. Now the market is directed by the buyers. They command the suppliers regarding product specification and price. Hence today's market can be termed as buyers' market where sellers are more in number and perfect competition prevails.

In such a competitive atmosphere the suppliers struggle to retain their share in the market. They attempt to expand the customer base by satisfying all their needs by offering the best of services. The sellers also try to attract more new customers by introducing certain offers. In this context the manufacturers and sellers conduct extensive market research. The major findings of such surveys reveal that building brand loyalty would be a better solution to retain the existing market share.

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