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DQ News: A Marketing Strategy That Works: Shaping Consumer Perception

Perception is reality.

Sure, this is a phrase we’ve all heard before but marketers know better than anyone how true the phrase actually is. You can have the greatest product in the world but when it comes to getting others to purchase and use that product, what matters most is how your customers view it.

And good marketers know that perception is not always based on quality and performance alone. There is a large marketing component that goes in to shaping public perception and a big part of that marketing has to do with making your brand name stick in a consumers mind.

Think about Kleenex, Band-Aid, and Jell-O. Those brands are hard to forget because their brand names have become nearly synonymous with the products they represent. Every company wishes it had that kind of instant brand recognition but very few actually do. In reality, the task of keeping a brand name in the forefront of a consumer’s mind is something that all companies work hard at. The ones that succeed do so because they’ve learned the right tactics to use.

Five Strategies That Work

Here are five strategies that have been shown to keep brands at the very top level of a consumer’s mind:

1. Connect on an emotional level. People make decisions about products the same way they make decisions about other people—first emotionally, then logically. In most cases, their initial attachment is based largely on emotion. It is only at a later stage that their decision is rationalized. So how can companies capitalize on this instinct? Easy. Create a strong emotional bond between their brand and their consumer. There are many ways to do this. One of the most common is to infuse the brand with a healthy dose of comfort and familiarity. The image of Colonel Sanders on the KFC logo instantly makes a consumer feel at home even when he is thousands of miles away from home when he sees it. The same is true of a lot of familiar brand images: the Nike swoosh, the NBC peacock, and of course, the Golden Arches.
2. Keep the brand visible. The most direct way to make something stick in peoples’ minds is to keep them looking at it. This can be done in all sorts of ways. A relatively expensive way is a large-scale advertising campaign. A much more cost-conscious way is to conduct a smart program of corporate giveaways. Branding giveaway items with the company’s name, logo, or slogan not only brings instant visibility but it also becomes the gift that keeps on giving. For example, by giving out tee-shirts displaying your logo, you create a walking advertisement that keeps people thinking about your company.
3. Distinguish yourself. Everyone aspires to be cool, to be first, to be a trend-setter. Smart marketers know this and play to peoples’ aspirations. Products that can maintain a trend-setting image will always have a leg up on the competition. Elvis Presley became an icon because he was unique in comparison to the norm of his time. Brands that are able to distinguish themselves in a similar fashion will always have customers because there is never a scarcity of people who want to be the coolest guy on their block.
4. Make people feel they are already using your product. We are all creatures of habit. If advertisers are somehow able to plant a mental image of their product being used by the customer, then they are already halfway to making the sale. A great example of how this can work is an old advertising campaign for a brand of deodorant showing people in a crowded subway train with arms raised in the same position people adopt when they use the deodorant.
5. Never neglect the core criteria. The smartest advertising campaigns in the world become useless when companies take their eyes off the ball and neglect the thing that is most important: core competence. People expect your product to be at least as good as the competition in doing the basic things they are buying it for. It’s all well and good to be unique, comfortable, and visible but your brand also needs to be a strong one when it comes to measuring up well against the competition on expected criteria.

A good first impression is important but a lasting impression is what you really want. When you ask a person to name brands within your product category, you want your brand to be the first one that gets mentioned. Achieving this distinction is not easy but is definitely worth the effort. No matter what the industry, products that stay in the forefront of the consumer’s mind are inevitably the market leaders in their field. Perception is indeed reality. And when that perception becomes a lasting one, the reality never goes away.

About the Author: James Lee, Small Business Research Analyst, has been providing research on marketing techniques for small businesses for Amsterdam Printing.com’s promotional pens and personalized calendars division for several years. Amsterdam has been a leading provider of personalized pens to small businesses for many years. James also focuses his research on the use of other promotional materials, such as personalized calendars, bags, apparel and mugs.

Photo Credit: stefan.erschwendner

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