Understanding Perception for Marketing

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One thing that is true in life and in business is that perception is reality. If a perception has been created, whether it is actually true at the core, it is perceived as true and; therefore, everyone believes it to be what they perceive.

Sensation and Perception

Sensation is the immediate response of our sensory receptors (e.g., eyes, ears, nose, mouth, ringers) to such basic stimuli as light, color, and sound. Perception is the process by which these stimuli are selected, organized, and interpreted.  Like a computer, we process raw data (sensation).  However, the study of perception focuses on what we add to or take away from these sensations as we assign meaning to them.

The subjective nature of perception is demonstrated by a controversial advertisement developed for Benetton by a French agency.  The ad features a black man and a white man handcuffed together.  This ad was the target of many complaints about racism after it appeared in magazines and on billboards around the United States, even though the company has a reputation for promoting racial tolerance.  People interpreted it to depict a black man who had been arrested by a white man.’ Even though both men are dressed the same, people’s prior assumptions distorted the ad’s meaning.

Such interpretations or assumptions stem from the schemas, or organized collections of beliefs and feelings, that a person has.  That is, we tend to group in our memories the objects we see as having similar characteristics, and the schema to which an object is assigned is a crucial determinant of how we choose to evaluate this object at a later time.

The Perceptual process can be broken down into the following stages:

 

  1. Primitive categorization, in which the basic characteristics of a stimulus are isolated.
  2. Cue check, in which the characteristics are analyzed in preparation for the selection of a schema.
  3. Confirmation check, in which the schema is selected.
  4. Confirmation completion, in which a decision is made as to what the stimulus is.

 

Sensory Systems

External stimuli, or sensory inputs, can be received on a number of channels.  We may see a billboard, hear a jingle, feel the softness of a cashmere sweater, taste a new flavor of ice cream, or smell a leather jacket.

The inputs picked up by our five senses constitute the raw data that generates many types of responses.  For example, sensory data emanating from the external environment (e.g., hearing a song on the radio) can generate internal sensory experiences when the song on the radio triggers a young man’s memory of his first dance and brings to mind the smell of his date’s perfume or the feel of her hair on his cheek.

Sensory inputs evoke historic imagery, in which events that actually occurred are recalled.  Fantasy imagery is the result when an entirely new, imaginary experience is the response to sensory data.  These responses are an important part of hedonic consumption-the multisensory, fantasy, and emotional aspects of consumers’ interactions with products.’ The data that we receive from our sensory systems determine how we respond to products.

Colors

Colors are rich in symbolic value and have powerful cultural meanings.

The powerful cultural meanings attached to colors make them a central aspect of many marketing strategies.  Color choices are made carefully with regard to packaging, advertising, and even store decor.

The expectations created by colors can actually affect consumers’ experience of products.  Consumers ascribe a sweeter taste to orange drinks as the orange shade of the bottle is darkened.

Package Design

The choice of color is frequently a key issue in package design.

Some color combinations come to be so strongly associated with corporations that these companies are granted exclusive use of these colors through a legal device known as trade dress or livery. As a rule, however, trade dress protection is granted only when consumers might be confused about what they are buying because of similar coloration of a competitor’s packages.

Since the number of competing brands has proliferated for many types of products, the color of a package can be a crucial spur to sales.

Marketers know that consumers tend to associate certain qualities with colors.  The makers of Microsoft software revamped the old forest green package to red and royal blue after it found that consumers associated green with frozen vegetables and chewing gum but not software. The color black connotes quality and elegance, and is used by Johnnie Walker Scotch to convey a sophisticated image.

Theories about Color

Despite the almost mystical effects that colors seem to have on people, little is known about the degree to which these effects are due to the colors themselves or to the cultural meanings that become attached to them. While it is premature to draw any firm conclusions, some evidence indicates that colors can actually affect us regardless of their cultural connotations.

In one experiment, for example, a phone company painted some of its phone booths yellow and found that people making calls from these booths on the average finished their conversations faster.” Exposure to “warm” hues such as red, orange, and yellow appears to raise blood pressure, heart rate, and perspiration, while blue exerts an opposite, caring effect.  Researchers have also claimed that rooms painted all pink appear to calm down delinquents and prison inmates, and a Canadian dental clinic used a blue room to relax anxious patients.  Some fast-food chains rely on the color orange to stimulate customers’ hunger.

Personality and Individual Preferences

Some people believe that people’s preferences for colors are somehow indicative of their personalities.  While there is little evidence to support this claim, there are clear differences among consumers in terms of their color preferences.  Some of these preferences vary by sex, region, social class, or culture.  For example, 25 percent of college women say that their favorite color is purple, but less than 10 percent of college men state this preference.

Some product designers believe that lower-income consumers prefer simple colors-those that can be described in two words, such as “grass green” or “sky blue”-and that these people find complex colors dirty or dull.  In contrast, higher-income people are thought to like complex colors such as “grey-green with a hint of blue.” Simple colors are said to “declassify” or extend a product’s appeal, while others “classify” a product by elevating its perceived status.

Sound

Music is an important part of many people’s lives.  In one survey, respondents were asked what experiences gave them thrills.  Musical passages were cited by 96 percent of the respondents, as compared to 70 percent who cited sexual activity and 26 percent who named parades (respondents could list more than one item).

Music and sound are also important to marketers.  Consumers buy millions of dollars worth of sound recordings each year, advertising jingles maintain brand awareness, and background music creates desired moods.”

Many aspects of sound may affect people’s feelings and behaviors.  Two areas of research that have widespread applications in consumer contexts are the effects of background music on mood and the influence of speaking rate on attitude change and message comprehension.

Time Compression and Sound Perception

Time compression is a technique used by broadcasters to manipulate perceptions of sound.  It is a way to pack more information into a limited time by speeding up an announcer’s voice in commercials.  The speaking rate is typically accelerated to about 120 percent to 130 percent of normal.  This effect is not detectable by most people; in fact, some tests indicate that consumers prefer a rate of transmission that is slightly faster than the normal speaking rate.

The evidence for the effectiveness of time compression is mixed.  It has been shown to increase persuasion in some situations and to reduce it in others.  One explanation for a positive effect is that the listener uses a person’s speaking rate to infer whether the speaker is confident; people seem to think that fast talkers must know what they are talking about.”

Another, more plausible, explanation is that the listener is given less time to elaborate in his or her mind on the assertions made in the commercial.  This acceleration disrupts normal cognitive responses to the ad and changes the cues used to form judgments about its content.  As change can either binder or facilitate attitude change, depending on other conditions.”

Touch

Although relatively little research has been done on the effects of tactile stimulation on consumer behavior, common observation tells us that this sensory channel is important.  Moods are stimulated or relaxed on the basis of sensations of the skin, whether from a luxurious massage or the bite of a winter wind.  Tactile sensations also influence our behavior via the physical messages that products send us.  We use tactile sensations to evaluate cars in terms of how they “feel” on the road, and detergents brag about how “baby soft” they will get our clothes.

Tactile Clues

People associate the textures of fabrics with underlying product qualities.  The perceived richness or quality of the material in clothing, bedding, or upholstery is linked to its “feel,” whether it is rough or smooth, flexible or inflexible.  Silk is equated with luxury, while denim is considered practical and durable.

Fabrics that are composed of scarce materials or that require a high degree of processing to achieve their smoothness or fineness tend to be more expensive, and thus are seen as being higher-class.  Similarly, lighter, more delicate textures are assumed to be feminine: Roughness is often positively valued for men, while smoothness is sought by women.  When was the last nine you saw a commercial in which a man was fretting about “dish pan hands?”

Taste

Our taste receptors obviously contribute to our experience of many products.  Specialized companies called “flavor houses” keep busy trying to develop new tastes to please the changing palates of consumers.  Their work has been especially important as consumers continue to demand good-tasting foods that are also low in calories and fat.

Taste testing

Food companies go to great lengths to ensure that their products taste as they should.

Blind Taste Tests

Are blind taste tests worth their salt? While taste tests often provide valuable information, their results can be misleading when it is forgotten that objective taste is only one component of product evaluation.

Conclusion

The concept of perception is just as important in business as it is in life. In both cases, relationships are at the core of your success. When it comes to perception in marketing, you create an idea and other people react emotionally to that idea and you begin to build your connection with those people until you get to the point where they trust you enough to buy what you are selling.

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Author

  • Dr. Brian Monger

    Dr. Brian Monger FMA, CPPM, PhD B.Com; Grad Dip Man. MBus. M.Ed. DBA Ph.D. is the Executive Director of MAANZ International, a Director and principal consultant at the Centre for Market Development.

    He has over 40 years’ experience in management and consulting in marketing and business development, working with organisations in Australia and overseas.

    He is a management and marketing consultant and well known presenter on marketing and management topics – as well as a prolific writer.

35 Responses

  1. Frederick Held says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Well done, complete and good advice. Most brand worthy companies know most of this. On the other hand there are companies still justifying marketing who know nothing.
    There are two TV adverts I suggest your readers view.
    1) Matthew McConaughey Lincoln cars, a complete mess. No positioning and in fact the product strategy is obliterated by Ford’ own brand. He mumbles and there are popular parodies. Lincoln execs think that is a good thing throwing blood money on top of bad.

    2) Viagra has a 40-55 year old beautiful and articulate woman explaining how happy she would be if her man took Viagra and the virtues of same. Hugely successful.
    By Frederick Held

  2. Max Weinberg says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Excellent! Auto companies all seem to be in the process of re-branding. The Mathew McConauhey ad is very unclear and unfocused. Who are they targeting with that ad? Lincoln does not seem to be as successful in reinventing and redefining their image as some other auto brands are. Think Lexus. No longer an old man’s car…
    By Max Weinberg

  3. Paul Becker says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    I know it may sound like B-S, however for major launches of new brands, product lines and / or new markets, for the most part I’ve been able to get at market research (primary or secondary) that identifies market segmentation-based preferences, needs, wants, etc., so we built the brand strategy to speak with one voice and differentiated message platforms based on the research. This way we spoke based on what the target markets told us was most important to them.
    By Paul Becker

    • Brian Monger says:

      Market Research (Both Primary and Secondary) are very important in understanding the perceptions (positive and negative) of the target market(s)

  4. Tsufit says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Maybe creating is too strong a word but influencing perceptions and then making that visible–that’s what marketing does, no?
    By Tsufit

  5. Kiesha Mincey says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    The way you use marketing to create perception is through relationship marketing, your passion, testimonials and through providing solutions. If you can show that you have a solution for something and that you have helped others then that builds credibility and trust automatically and would lead one to think that the product or service can help him or her as well and that is what will create perception and increase sales.
    By Kiesha Mincey

  6. Mark Albin says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Good marketers can create perception. This is accomplished on several levels using a myriad of mediums. First and foremost we must understand the target audience and the perception they need to have in order to sample and eventually become brand loyal to the product. Only then can you craft the appropriate message and determine the visual imagery, voice and tonality which will resonate to achieve the desired perception and ultimate results.
    By Mark Albin

  7. Al Shultz says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Before you can create a perception your audience first has to see and hear you. Before they can do that you need to separate yourself, differentiate yourself, from the competition. They need to latch onto what makes you special, and you need to convey what that is, clearly and explicitly. There can be no real building of a perception without differentiation, which is the root of all effective marketing.
    By Al Shultz

  8. Brad Elmhorst says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Tactical direct marketing in B2B, with unique call to action can gain a perceived call frequency much higher than the actual physical sales call frequency. Advances in digital printing allow for personalization and longer ‘desk-life’ than electronic communications.
    By Brad Elmhorst

  9. Keith James says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Social Media News
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    People and business rarely buy what they need, they buy what they want. Marketers are great at creating perceived needs so that you can buy what you want.

    Packaging plays a huge part in perceived value. Just look at cosmetics. Spend a couple of more cents on packaging and you can get 20x in return.
    By Keith James

  10. Tatyana Dyagileva says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Executives Club of New Jersey
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    The famous 4P (price, product, promotion, and place) of Marketing should be actually 5P, with “Perceptions” as 5th component.
    By Tatyana Dyagileva

  11. Thaddeus B. Kubis says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Rolling Stone Magazine built an entire program, campaign on Perception vs. Reality. Perception is a valid and important tool, but perception does have a downside as well.
    By Thaddeus B. Kubis

  12. Terrie McArthur says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Business Writers of America
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    So, the question is, “how do you want people to perceive you?” I’m thinking–as a moral, upright honest person. But there must be substance behind this or it will all fall apart. So, there is more to reality than merely perception.
    By Terrie McArthur

  13. Marita Gomez says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Medical Education Communications and Pharmaceutical Marketing
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Great article! But it forgot to mention the value that PR brings to the mix — to alter perception.
    By Marita Gomez

  14. Kenneth Holtzinger says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: ThoseinMedia
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    The challenging part for a business that creates a perception is to be able to mirror that perception when it comes to the customer experience. Making lemons look like apples doesn’t make them apples. The whole experience will leave your customers with a sour taste in their mouths.
    By Kenneth Holtzinger

  15. Jake Dyer says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Perceptions once formed are hard to shake. Sticking with the car examples, when asking people to name the safest car marque on the road the name of Volvo frequently pops up. However while they still build safe cars the reality is they weren’t ranked top for safety in any class of car for the 2014 results released for the Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme).

    A key point to note is that Volvo’s perception was built on a truth, where historically they had been at the forefront of safety engineering. I’m sure hyped up functional perceptions that don’t stand up to acceptable scrutiny from the outset erode much faster.

    However it would be naïve of me to suggest marketing can’t successfully cultivate and maintain desirable perceptions that are perhaps mythical rather than reality based. One just has to think about the various high-end watch brands which are more about emotively conveying the right aspirational status and image above and beyond any rationally claimed benefits such as mere devices that happen to keep time.
    By Jake Dyer

  16. Brad Elmhorst says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Perception can be linked to band image. And as Jake related there can be a disconnect between perception and reality as noted in his Volvo example.
    We have to be careful as consumers to understand that perception peaks interest. It is still incumbent on the consumer to validate the brands ability to deliver on the implied value.

    Growing up in the 60’s GM car ownership was often perceived with upward mobility in with workplace. Chevy owners moved up in stature when they traded up to a Buick or Oldsmobile with Cadillac being a ‘career aspiration’. Similarity Ford had the Mercury and Lincoln brands.

    Competition in the marketplace creates a need for brands to distinguish themselves, searching for the tag line or distinguishing image that creates brand retention and loyalty. I doubt IBM or Coke will change colors. However too often brands walk away from their distinctive positioning due to their lack of understanding of their perception/brand recognition in the market.

    Great Taste! Less Filling!
    Mmm Mmm Good!
    …this stuffs made in NEW YORK CITY! Get a Rope!
    Quality is Job #1

    These are all marketing/brand perceptions planted by leaders in their category that were shelved in favor of new positioning, likely due to marketing management or agency turnover. So in summary going back to the original topic: Marketing is all about creating a perception or emotional link to your product or service with the consumer. Do it well and you get repeat purchases and pass along advertising in their communication with others.
    By Brad Elmhorst

  17. Paul Parkin says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    I think the Lincoln commercials are the best car ads I’ve ever seen. That’s from me as just a viewer. I never thought about Lincolns more than they would smell like cigar and old man farts. He made it cool (to me)

    I can’t even think of another car ad. I’ll remember those, and more importantly the brand. They have repositioned themselves in my mind. That’s very hard to do.

    That said, one of the most beloved commercials in history are the Mean Joe Green Coke commercials. Yet sales dipped during that period (according to then Coke marketing guru Sergio Zyman)
    By Paul Parkin

  18. Michael Arellano says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    I disagree! Where the first sentence of the conclusion may have merit: “The concept of perception is just as important in business as it is in life. In both cases, relationships are at the core of your success.” The rest of the conclusion is flawed.
    What is being described here is the science of advertising as it relates to sensory perception. Where advertising is a relative of marketing, it does not fit in the current paradigm of engagement marketing or relationship building. This is closer to sensory manipulation used to emote feelings, not to build relationships.
    Simply stated, “Relationship Building” requires the following: 1) “What is your message and what do you want from your prospective client? 2) Engage them at that point, and 3) direct them to the next level or to the stage you want them to be (informed, purchaser, etc.) with your message.
    This requires much more attraction to the place where the prospect is and lives (resides in their current mindset) and engaging him/her where they are in the process. If I can generate a marketing message that evokes emotion, on any level, does not mean they will trust me.
    So to answer the question: “How do I use marketing to create perception?”
    I don’t – I use marketing to change perception into a reality by building awareness; informing my potential customer/existing client; answering their questions; quelling their fears and earning their respect of me as an authority – not an advertiser…
    That is just the beginning of relationship building, not the end.
    By Michael Arellano

  19. Jennifer Alexis says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Marketing equals promotion “it’s what you say and how you say it” To create perception is to communicate value in order to create the need or want. The question is how do you want your product or service to be perceived?
    By Jennifer Alexis

  20. Mujtaba Al-Mahmood says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Intuitive recognition or cognition of a brand is the result of a thoughtful marketing process . Perception or broadly speaking brand image, either positive or negative , doesn’t just happen in the void. It is again an outcome of an evolving process of ‘positioning’ , but not what we do to a product,instead what we do to the mind of the prospect! Brand Positioning is a planned and disciplined process which starts with the assessment of stakeholders needs and desires, follows through the rigor of opportunity modeling, building clear brand platform, creating exclusive brand identity and finally designing brand architecture through a continuous process of evaluation. And when branding is done right with a holistic approach encompassing culture ,connection, intimacy and most importantly built around some brand ideals or higher purpose, the brand continues to evolve and evoke positive perception in the minds of the prospects.
    By pursuing a higher purpose , P&G over the years has built the highest selling global brand , Disposable Pamper, while positioning the brand in the minds of the mothers that the’ brand exist to help mothers care for their babies’ healthy and happy development’.
    By Mujtaba Al-Mahmood

  21. Dominic Pontrelli says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    Many companies are evolving to a services based, pay as you go, aaS model to enhance services / solutions margins on top of their core business offerings. The term we hear is ‘transforming’ the company…. You will learn a lot about brand perception in win / loss surveys. Customers buy what they perceive and trust as the brand offering. Marketing’s role to change and enhance brand perception is critical to the transformation of a company.
    By Dominic Pontrelli

  22. If you are interested in topics like this one, perhaps join us on LinkedIn in Dr Brian’s Marketing Network?

  23. Rohit Sanghi says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    In today’s market scenario the term Perception has become very dynamic, with the infusion of social network in our lives advertising thru media has reduced to just creating awareness about a particular product or service, and when users discuss this within their groups is when perception is really created.
    Belief in your product with a strong belief in self can create a strong perception in your clients mind – with fierce competition today manufacturers just have to remember that at every price level there is a buyer and a seller.
    By Rohit Sanghi

  24. Patricia Thompson says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Small Business Accelerator
    Discussion: How Do You Use Marketing to Create Perceptions?

    I have seen incorrect perceptions of an event destroy a relationship and hurt businesses. It can also work the other way to build a strong relationship based on a persons understanding ( true or false). Think political parties, where the parties slant the truth according to their needs. Perception is based on many things as compukol.com stated. It is better to do independent research than base your decisions on what your emotions believe.
    By Patricia Thompson