Brand Perception: What is it & How Do We Measure it

upqode | Jan 17th, 2023

Perception is everything in the business industry. 

Do you know that 81% of consumers need to trust the brand they’re considering buying from? That’s a really high percentage, and it shows just how important trusting a brand is when deciding to buy. 

Brand perception is about how consumers perceive your company, products, and services. It’s not just about what you say, it’s about how people feel about your brand

Therefore, in this article, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of brand perception, including questions like what is brand perception and how to measure brand perception. Plus, we’ll also share some tips on how to improve it. 

Let’s begin!

What Is Brand Perception?

Brand perception refers to how consumers perceive a brand, its products, and its services. It encompasses the emotions and feelings the brand evokes in its customers. Brand perception is shaped by various factors, including its messaging, reputation, and what others say about it. 

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Source: Pexels

A strong brand perception can significantly impact a company’s success. It can help a business attract certain types of customers, affect the prices the company can charge, and enable the brand to build partnerships with other companies. On the contrary, negative brand perception can be difficult to overcome, even with significant discounts or promotions.

Brand Perception and the 5 Senses of Consumers

To create a strong and lasting brand perception, engaging all five of your customers’ senses through various marketing techniques can be helpful. These senses include sight, hearing, smell, taste, and emotion.

Visual55% of first impressions are visual. You can use creative branding and high-budget, entertaining commercials to appeal to customers’ sense of sight. 
AuditoryYou can create catchy musical jingles or catchphrases that become popular and memorable in popular culture.
OlfactoryYou can use certain scents to trigger memories and emotions and appeal to customers’ sense of smell.
TasteOffering free samples or special tasting opportunities can allow customers to experience your products and form a positive impression through their sense of taste. 
Emotional AppealUsing heartwarming or emotional marketing tactics can appeal to customers’ emotions and create a strong connection to the brand.

Brand Perception Examples

The following examples illustrate how companies can effectively influence brand perception.

Apple

Apple has a strong brand perception as a company that produces high-quality, innovative products with a sleek and modern designs. This perception is largely due to the company’s focus on delivering excellent customer experiences, creating modern design and taking risks, unlike other brands. 

Plus, thanks to its successful marketing efforts that highlight the unique design and advanced features of its products, the company is renowned worldwide. 

The company has immensely focused on its camera and high-quality photos and repeatedly compared it to Android cameras. 

Snickers

Snickers has positioned itself as a brand that can improve consumers’ moods and focus through clever marketing campaigns

For example, the company’s “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign, which features people acting wild and out of character when hungry and returning to normal after eating a Snickers bar, has helped to establish this perception. 

By linking the brand to improved mood and focus, Snickers has differentiated itself from other popular chocolate bars like KitKat and Cadbury Dairy Milk. Consequently, this has helped to create a strong brand perception. 

Nike

Nike has a strong brand perception as a company that promotes an active and healthy lifestyle. This perception is reinforced through the company’s marketing efforts, which often feature professional athletes and focus on the performance and functionality of its products. Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan is also widely recognized and has helped to solidify the company’s brand perception further. 

Furthermore, Nike is renowned for producing top-notch, performance-enhancing athletic apparel and footwear. This reputation and the company’s focus on promoting an active lifestyle have contributed to its strong brand perception. 

Plus, Nike’s visually appealing swoosh symbol is a simple yet iconic design widely recognized worldwide. The symbol is intended to represent the movement of a runner or athlete.

Why Brand Perception Matters

Wondering why you need positive brand perception? The answer is quite simple. If you want to leave a long-lasting impact on your audience, solidify your brand perception. 

The importance of brand perception cannot be overstated. Your brand perception is how your customers and stakeholders view your brand. It’s how they perceive your company, products, and services. A strong, positive brand perception is crucial for the success of any business.

Increase in Sales

Compare the sales of a brand with a positive image among consumers with a brand with a negative perception. Which one is more likely to generate high revenue?

People are more likely to purchase from a company they perceive as high quality and trustworthy. If your brand is perceived positively, it can help build customer confidence and encourage them to buy from you. On the other hand, if your brand is perceived as low quality or untrustworthy, it can be much harder to convince people to make a purchase.

Stand Out

There are several brands in the market offering the same products. Why should the consumer buy from your brand? 

A strong brand perception can differentiate you from your competitors. If your brand is perceived as high quality, innovative, or trustworthy, it can set you apart from other companies in your industry. This can be particularly important in markets with many similar products or services, as it can be hard for consumers to determine which one to choose.

A strong brand perception can help create a sense of familiarity and trust with your customers. When people positively perceive your brand, they are more likely to think of your company when they need a product or service in your industry. This can drive customer loyalty and generate more revenue for your business. Snickers is an excellent example that has stood out for being a solution to your hanger. 

Expand Your Reach

Many brands attempt to enter a new industry or niche and fail because of poor brand perception. 

Therefore, a strong brand perception can make it easier for you to enter new markets or expand your reach. If people already have a positive perception of your brand, they may be more likely to consider your company when you enter a new market or introduce a new product. This helps make it easier for you to gain traction and establish yourself in new areas.

Furthermore, good brand perception can be more attractive to potential partners, who may be more likely to want to work with you. This can help to expand your reach through collaborations or joint ventures.

Factors That Influence Brand Perception

Several elements are mixed together to form a positive brand perception. Some of the key factors to consider include

Quality of Products and Services

One of the most important factors that influence brand perception are the quality of the products and services you offer. 

Your products define your brand. They are the ones that ensure that a customer keeps coming back to you. 

 If your products and services are high quality and consistently meet customer expectations, it can help to build trust and establish your brand as a leader in your industry. Contrarily, low-quality or unreliable products can damage your brand perception and make it harder to attract new customers while simultaneously failing to retain the current ones.

Brand Identity

Products and services alone can not help your brand in the long run. Your brand identity matters a lot. There are several factors that can help create your brand identity. For example, your logo, color scheme, and messaging can also influence brand perception. 

A robust and cohesive brand identity can help to create a sense of familiarity and trust with your audience, while a weak or inconsistent brand identity can confuse or alienate potential customers.

Customer Experience

A customer might forgive you for a bad product, but they won’t forgive you for poor customer service. This is because a customer wants you to listen and give solutions to their issues with your brand. 

The overall customer experience can also have a major impact on brand perception. If your customer service is excellent and you are responsive to customer needs and concerns, it can create a positive brand perception. Plus, it may help you form long-term relationships with your current customers and form bonds with the new ones. 

Marketing and Advertising Efforts

Your marketing and advertising efforts can influence brand perception. For example, Coca-Cola has a strong brand perception as a classic and iconic soft drink. The company’s marketing efforts, which often feature happy, upbeat music and the iconic Coca-Cola script logo, have contributed to this perception. 

Therefore, if your marketing is effective and resonates with your target audience, it can help to create a positive brand perception. 

Public Relations 

PR refers to the practice of managing the spread of information between a company and its public. Companies can shape how the public perceives their brand through various PR tactics and strategies.

For example, a company can use PR to promote positive news or achievements, such as new product launches or philanthropic efforts, to improve its brand perception. One of the modern ways to do so is using the influencer marketing strategy on social media. 

Plus, a company can use PR to address and resolve negative issues or crises, such as customer complaints, to protect its brand reputation. By effectively managing its PR, a company can help shape how its brand is perceived by the public and influence its overall brand perception.

How to Measure Brand Perception

Brand Perception Survey

Brand perception survey is a useful for brand perception research. These surveys can help you understand how customers view and perceive a brand. These surveys can be administered online or in person. 

They typically include targeted questions and open-ended responses that allow customers to share their thoughts and opinions about the brand. For instance, you may ask your consumers the following questions:

  • To what extent is it important for a brand to align with your personal values for you to consider purchasing its products or services?
  • How much impact does a brand’s reputation have on your decision to purchase its products or services?
  • To what degree does customer service influence your perception of a brand?
brand perception
Source: Pexels

Surveys may use reliable metrics, such as the net promoter score or CSAT, to measure brand perception and provide valuable data to the company. It is recommended to conduct brand perception surveys at least quarterly or in conjunction with advertising campaigns, to track the impact of these campaigns on brand perception.

Social Media 

Want to know what people really think about your business? Go on social media and search for your brand!

Social media can be a valuable source of information about how the public perceives a brand. 

By tracking and analyzing mentions of the brand and reactions to it on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, companies can gain insights into their social media performance and respond quickly to any issues or concerns raised. 

But it’s not easy to track every single mention, tweet, or comment. That’s where social listening tools come to your rescue!

Social listening tools can help businesses track and measure brand perception across social media channels. By analyzing online conversations, companies can gain insights into how customers perceive their brand, what customers are saying about it, and which areas may need improvement. 

Many different social listening tools are available, each with unique features and benefits. Some popular options include Brandwatch, Hootsuite Insights, and Talkwalker. 

Review Sites

People don’t hold back on review websites. Whether it’s Google Reviews or Yelp, you’ll find a plethora of reviews that can potentially make or break a brand’s reputation.

Review sites can significantly impact brand perception, allowing customers to share their experiences and opinions about a company’s products or services. 

Positive reviews can help to enhance a brand’s reputation and attract new customers, while negative reviews can damage a brand’s image and discourage potential customers. For this reason, it is important for companies to monitor review sites and respond to both positive and negative feedback in a timely and appropriate manner. 

Brand Audit

A brand audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a brand’s performance, including its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is a useful tool for understanding a brand’s position in the market and identifying areas for improvement.

A brand audit can help to enhancebrand perception by providing insight into how the brand is perceived by its target audience, as well as by competitors and other stakeholders. It can also identify any inconsistencies between the brand’s messaging and actual performance, affecting brand perception. For example, it can pinpoint the hurdles holding you back and hindering your business’s success. 

Companies can better understand their brand’s strengths and weaknesses by conducting a brand audit and developing strategies to enhance their brand perception.

Improving Brand Perception

Who’s Your Target Audience?

To improve your brand’s perception, it’s important to identify the target audience first. 

girl-carrying-shopping-bags
Source: Pexels

To better understand your customers and how they perceive your brand, it’s important to go beyond basic demographic information like age, gender, and language. You must analyze their behaviors, including how they consume information, interact with one another, and what motivates them to choose your brand. 

A good example of a company that did this effectively is Dove, which used a campaign called “Real Women” in 2004 to explore the topic of women and self-esteem. The campaign featured advertisements with makeup-free models of all sizes as the main focal point, which helped Dove stand out from other personal care brands and appeal to a wider audience.

The campaign was successful because it resonated emotionally with millions of women worldwide. This led to a 700% increase in sales in the first half of 2004. 

The campaign’s success can be attributed to Dove’s thorough understanding of its audience and ability to deliver a strong, consistent message in creative ways consistently.

Learn from Negative Feedback

Instead of panicking or ignoring negative feedback, you can use negative feedback to improve brand perception. How

By actively listening to and addressing negative feedback, companies can show their commitment to customer satisfaction and show the customers that they are willing to bring any changes required to improve their brand’s products or services. This way, you can build customer trust and credibility, leading to a more positive brand perception.

Additionally, negative feedback can provide valuable insights into areas for improvement. Analyzing and learning from negative feedback can help companies actively identify problems or issues affecting their brand perception and take steps to address them. 

Connect With the Audience

Customers who have positive experiences with a brand are more likely to spend more money and have a stronger perception of the brand. 

To improve customer-business relationships and enhance brand perception, it’s important to provide fast customer service, connect emotionally with customers, and be known for active engagement on social media

Customers are significantly influenced by the brands that provide personalized service. This  indicates that they value their customers and are willing to go the extra mile to meet their needs. 

Plus, companies can strengthen the emotional bond with their audience by connecting emotionally with customers in different ways, such as celebrating holidays or other special events. 

Social Media

What’s the best way to connect with your audience? Social media, of course! 

Social media can be an effective tool for improving brand perception. It can easily bridge the gap between your brand and consumer. 

You already know how brand perception can be measured through social media. After finding out the audience’s response to your brand, you can use the brand perception research to your advantage. 

icons-of-different-social-media-on-cell-phone-screen
Source: Pexels

What’s more, companies can build strong relationships with their audience by actively listening to and engaging with customers on social media. This can demonstrate that they value their feedback and are open to interaction. 

Key Takeaway

Brand perception is a crucial aspect of any business. It’s how customers perceive your brand, products, and services, and it’s influenced by everything from your branding and messaging to what others say about you. 

To improve brand perception, it’s important to understand your audience, provide excellent customer service, and actively listen and engage with customers on social media. This article enlists several tips to build strong, positive relationships with your audience.

You can also contact a reputable digital marketing agency, like UPQODE, to significantly improve your brand perception and help you grow your business. Contact the team today!

Filed under: Marketing

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