Perception is Key.. Perception is Reality! How consumers judge your brand
By Chris Hekeik Founder & Managing Director of Modemedia.
Every day you are bombarded by hundreds of branding messages from television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, product packaging, building signage, word of mouth…even peoples’ t-shirts. It’s a visual and auditory overload.
How many of those messages successfully inspired you to make a purchasing decision? Did you buy a new car or a watch or dress today? Did you go to a particular restaurant and not another?
Believe it or not, branding (which has been my world for 20 years) is an emotional science and connection. There is a right and wrong way of making it work. Establish and manage your brand correctly and before long everyone will be talking about you.
Misuse a brand and it becomes a costly waste. So often when business owners come to us they have a belief that their brand is their company name and logo. It is much more than that. Branding is more than a Graphic Art, it’s a Performing Art.
A brand identity describes who you are, what you do and why, your integrity, spirit of excellence and points of difference. It has a huge influence on peoples’ perceptions.
We say to business people they are living their brand every day – and they don’t even know it. Their desire to provide a good, reliable product; to make it easily accessible and to provide the customer with a positive and beneficial purchasing experience… that’s all part of your brand. What we do is take those desires and communicate them through the brand.
First impressions are everything. It can sound unfair to think that a professionally created and managed brand will outperform other brands even if the product or service it is attached to is sub-standard.
We live in a world where consumers are very savvy. Colours, shapes, fonts all contribute to an assessment (which might be decided in the first few seconds) of whether they want to spend their hard-earned with you or not. Yes, in a perfect world the shopper would take the time to evaluate every product on the market, check all the product features first and then buy the one that works best regardless of who is selling it. However, people do judge brands by appearances.
How important is it to have a strong brand? We believe your brand is the “engine room” of your business. It empowers and accelerates. It captures peoples’ imagination and creates loyalty. Today, people buy emotionally, not logically.
It even determines how profitable you will be. If you are perceived as having prestigious products the consumer will pay more for them. This is where you want to be…with customers seeking your product or service regardless of the price.
My question to you; How do you want to be perceived by your customers and potential customers?
Businesses have paid to have a design created and that is as far as they go. A strong, compelling brand works 24/7 to bring people to your business. That’s what we are about
– creating and managing powerful brands that get your business the result it deserves.
It’s one thing to create a powerful brand design and message, it’s another thing to get that brand into the market place effectively. You can’t do one without the other. Take a look at your brand. What does it say about you and your offering?
Always remember; Perception is Key..Perception is Reality! Don’t miss out by not being perceived or communicated incorrectly.
