Building up your company’s reputation takes years of hard work—yet, it takes only moments for it to crumble.
In today’s digital age, customers have a myriad of options to choose from—in fact, today’s consumers are bombarded with up to 10,000 ads every day. They get to enjoy the freedom to find the ideal product while businesses struggle to position themselves in an increasingly loud market.
Companies looking to break free from this crowded marketplace must focus on improving their brand perception or risk becoming obsolete.
But what is brand perception? And why does it matter?
What Is Brand Perception?
The term “brand perception” can be defined as how your brand is perceived in the market. It’s how your customers feel about your particular product or service based on their thoughts, feelings, and overall experience with your company.
This perception develops across the entire customer buying journey—from product development and marketing to customer service and even packaging. Every customer interaction either helps or hinders your attempts to build a relationship with and connect to your buyers.
For example, ask any random person on the street if they prefer Coke or Pepsi. Coke fans might say they like red more than blue, or they love Coke’s Christmas can designs. They may also discuss why they dislike Pepsi, such as not enjoying the taste or their marketing. Essentially, their response reveals their brand perception of both Coke and Pepsi.
While brand perception is ultimately controlled by customers, you can control your business’s message to consumers. Creating content that showcases your business’s purpose and product can help to elicit a strong emotional response.
Why Is Brand Perception Important?
Brand perception affects your bottom line—a lot.
Every time a customer has a positive experience with your brand, their trust in it goes up. As their trust increases, they’re more likely to purchase from you and choose you over your competitors. Additionally, there’s a higher chance they’ll demonstrate loyalty to your brand and recommend you to a loved one. One study found that 60% of customers will tell friends and family about a brand they’re loyal to.
More loyal customers and more promising leads increase revenue. Businesses are more likely to partner with you. Launching new products will become significantly easier. This is why brand perception is important—and why it’s so important to get it right. Once a consumer formulates a perception about your brand, it’s nearly impossible to change their minds.
The consequences of a negative brand perception are endless. Consumers will likely turn to competitors and inform friends and family of their poor experience, which costs you future customers.
Yet, the biggest threat of a negative experience is your reputation. Customers will quickly lose faith and trust in your business, painting your company in a less-than-ideal light.
Take, for example, the backlash McDonald’s faced after the documentary Super Size Me was released in 2004. The documentary explored what happened to an individual who ate McDonald’s for all three meals for an entire month. The results were shocking. The man gained 25 pounds, significantly increased his cholesterol and body mass, and sustained liver damage.
Customers quickly became concerned about the restaurant’s commitment to health, and many boycotted the establishment. This eventually led to the company phasing out their supersize fries and drinks. Customer loyalty slowly began to increase only after they added healthy options like salad and fruit to the menu and their “Every Step Counts” campaign.
How Do You Measure Brand Perception?
So how do you measure brand perception? Conducting regular web searches and asking for customer feedback can provide a fairly reliable picture of how customers respond to your brand.
Some ways your team members can measure brand perception include:
- Setting up Google alerts for any mention of your brand.
- Reading customer reviews online.
- Monitoring your company’s social media accounts.
- Passing out brand perception surveys.
- Holding focus groups and forums.
Enhance Your Brand Perception with Channel Factory
Channel Factory has worked with a number of companies across industries to improve their brand perception. We’ve helped business teams create meaningful and focused content that breaks through the noise of today’s business market with our proven methodology.
For more information about brand perception, check out the rest of our site or contact us today!