Managing Customer Perception: Understanding the Keys to Building and Measuring Brand Image
Capturing customers’ attention and business is harder than ever. In such a competitive market, standing out takes more than a cool product or reliable service. It requires a brand image that customers can connect with and trust.
As society navigates the pandemic and grapples with the challenges of equality and justice, people are more sensitive than ever to brand image. In this post, we’ll discuss how to build and measure brand image to maximize the connection between you and your customers.
What is Brand Image?
Brand image is more than a logo, tagline, or jingle—it’s the perception that people have of your brand. What comes to mind when they hear your name?
Every interaction a customer has with your company shapes the brand image. They’ll remember whether your goals and values are aligned. They’ll recall how the experience with your brand felt. Most importantly, people won’t forget whether they trust you to meet their needs.
All these factors will build an indelible impression of your brand. Hopefully, a positive one!
Why Is It Important?
Customers are more likely than ever to make purchasing decisions based not just on features and benefits but their perception of what a company represents.
- Brand image is what truly sets you apart from competitors (think Chipotle vs Taco Bell)
- Your image is the first impression people have, and your best chance to build confidence and trust with customers
- A compelling image is also a great way to develop brand advocates and drive customer loyalty
How to Build Your Brand Image
Your company’s overall image is a combination of everything out there about you, including owned media, earned media, and paid media. It’s the stuff you put out there deliberately—and the stuff you can’t control—like what your customers say about you in online reviews and conversations.
That means, you only have so much control over your brand image. Besides that, perception is deeply personal, and everyone looks at the world in a slightly different way. But these five steps provide a framework for a powerful brand image that will resonate with customers:
- Identify your target audience and how best to connect with them
- Write a brand positioning statement that includes your brand mission, vision, and values
- Create a compelling brand personality, including design aesthetics and tone of voice
- Stay consistent across all your marketing and communication channels, especially social media
- Maintain high standards of customer service and focus on conveying a sense of caring to your customers
How to Begin Measuring Perceptions of Your Brand
Keeping tabs on how customers feel about your company is critical to managing your brand image. Surveying your customers is one way to understand how your audience perceives the brand. Surveys can reveal what’s working, what’s not working, and additional questions to explore.
When measuring perceptions of your brand, focus on four key areas:
- Active – What experiences have customers had with your products or services?
- Cognitive – What concepts do people associate with your brand?
- Emotional – What types of feelings does your brand evoke?
- Linguistic – How do customers describe your brand?
You also want to survey a broad audience to ensure you’re getting responses from every point of the customer journey:
- Prospects – How did they discover your brand? What’s driving their interest?
- New Customers – What caused them to engage with your company?
- Longtime Customers – What keeps them pleased with your brand?
- Former Customers – Why did they move on? What would they have changed?
By monitoring results over time, you’ll hone your brand image and maintain a strong connection with your customers.
Looking to use market research to strengthen your company’s image? Contact Voccii® today!
