CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TIP – PART 2

Last week, I posted an article titled “Customer Perception Tips”. I encourage you to read it if you have not. Today, we will be looking at the different factors that can influence customer perception. Also, how can customer perception be measured so that we can be able to improve it?  Remember, you cannot improve what if you cannot measure.

What are the Factors Influencing Customer Perception?

Customer perception can be influenced by external factors, some of which are listed below:

1. Personal experience

Customer perception is highly influenced by the personal experience that a customer had while buying and using a particular product. If the quality, customer service, price, logo, colour, discounts, etc. were able to make an excellent impression on the minds of the customers, they would build a good perception of the brand. But in case they did not enjoy the experience with the brand, it will leave an everlasting impression.

2. Advertising

Customers get to see the products first through advertisements and therefore become one of the biggest factors that influence customer perception. The advertisement and campaigns that a company runs will help to build a positive customer perception.

3. Influencers

People generally buy things when another person has tried and tested them. Such people who have bought it first and tried the product become influencers. When people hear about a great product that the influencer has tried out, it will influence the person to buy it and test it out, as the recommendation has come from a known person whom they trust.

4. Customer reviews

Many people look into customer reviews before buying a product. This shows that customer reviews are an important factor in defining customer perception. If the consumers see that a product has a lower number of stars, it means that the product does not have good customer reviews. The impression that it creates on the consumer’s mind is negative.

5. Social media

Social media has become the strongest medium to manage customer perception. When a social media audience gets consistent communication regarding a product, the users build an image of the product. Social media can be used to post content, images, videos, etc. which helps to build the kind of perception intended by the company.

How to Measure Customer Perception?

Customer perception is not a mystery!

Brands can monitor and measure perception by investing a little time and using smart tools and techniques.

Customer perception, when measured, provides a stream of valuable consumer insights. When a brand conducts deep dive and measures customer perception, it unlocks behind-the-scenes of how customers look at your brand. You can see how customers engage with and react to your brand.

So how do companies monitor and measure consumer perception when they are looking at it from behind the scenes?

Here’s how:

1. Analysing Website Traffic:

Your website has hidden truths about how customers perceive your brand. Analysing your website traffic gives insights into customer perception. But it is important to look for clues in the right places. Free tools like Google Analytics can be used to analyse your website. Start by looking into basic details:

How many customers typed your company URL in the search bar?

Who has clicked an email that you sent?

Are there any customers who downloaded your documents?

Analyse the trend of user behaviour on your website by answering these questions. It allows you to identify if there is any change over time in brand perception.

2. Online Customer Reviews:

72% of customers won’t take action until they read reviews. You realize how big an impact customer reviews can have on customer perception. Good reviews can create a positive customer perception. Therefore, companies resort to customer reviews to measure customer perception. There are a lot of product review sites like G2Crowd, Yelp, AppExchange, Angie’s List, Salesforce, etc. that have a huge database of customer feedback. Your customers are potentially looking at the reviews before deciding to buy your products.

Set up Google alerts that can notify you when reviews are posted. In this way, you can immediately know what customers are talking about your product and measure the positive or negative perception that is created in the mind of the potential customers.

3. Analysing Social Media Conversations:

This is one of the most effective methods to measure customer perception. Social media conversations are a great start to seeing what people are talking about your brand. Consumers of products and services are all over the internet and are using social media to express their experiences, liking, or hatred toward a brand.

When businesses or brands start tracking brand mentions it can lead to a collection of honest feedback. It will give insights into what customers feel about your brand, opportunities to manage your brand reputation, and an understanding of how consumers interact with your brand’s products or services.

Perception is your reality!!

You may know it or not, but your company already has a perception. The most important is whether it is working in your favour or against you.

Do you know how customers perceive your brand today? If you measure it and become aware of how your brand is perceived, you can work towards improving it or fixing it for a better tomorrow.

Thank you for reading through and remember to like, share and comment.

Written by Hay-R-Hay.