We often hear “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but the truth is– there are things outside of our control that attribute first impressions. Personal, professional… we can’t escape it but merely double down or address the perceptions we don’t like.
I did an exercise recently on my Facebook page, asking my closest circle of friends to attribute 3 words to describe my business. Three words to summarize a year’s worth of hard work building a tangible, relatable, and respected business. It sounded easier on paper, but I was curious: what traits were my business circle of friends perceiving off limited experiences with me? Many of these people are clients too — which helped this exercise immensely.
Here’s some of their answers:
The answers told a story.
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My lemon imagery in my visual design was working.
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My customer service skills were better than I thought.
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My desire to blend personal and professional traits was a success.
It was the confirmation that my brand messaging was where it needs to be to achieve my goals. However… what if it didn’t? What if I didn’t reach my clients or audience the way I wanted to?
This exercise would help me answer some questions.
What do consumers believe the brand represents? What is their view of its products and services? How does this perception compare with competing brands and the wider market?
how can you change your brand perception?
Brand perception is owned by consumers, not brands. Regardless of your message, whatever people are thinking and saying about your brand, that is your brand. This is where you have to put the work in to shift their thinking to lean one way. It’s allowing your morals and values to show more, to align it with your product/service.
know your customers
It’s one of the basic foundations of branding, marketing, and honestly running your own business in general. You have to know your customers before you can even think to sell to them. It would be a disservice to you AND them by not taking time to learn about them. Knowing your customers, things like their general age, gender, location, language, professions and interests, is vital when considering what shapes your brand perception.
The most important thing to do is to understand your customer’s struggles and pain points.
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What is their #1 problem? (Ex: They have dry skin, they need affordable tires, they need eco-friendly packaging on products, they want to support community-driven brands)
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How can your business help their problem?
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If your product improves their life, will your business likely be attributed to the change?
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How do your customers search for solutions to their problems?
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What lingo and terms are they speaking?
The truth is, you have to THINK like your customer before you can SELL to your customer. By doing so, you’re understanding what they’re looking for and it helps you make changes to your brand so you can be perceived in ways that are appealing.
For example: Younger customers look for affordable products, but also products that are representing change in their community. If a portion of proceeds go to help causes they care about (environmental, lgbt+, cancer studies, homelessness, etc), they feel more confident to buy because it allows them to feel like their purchase is helping a cause they care about. If you wish to be a trusted, relatable source, this would be a great thing to promote on your social media or labeling.
Think of HOW you want to be perceived and work towards connecting with your customers honestly to nudge them in the right direction.
double down on brand message
Positive brand perception requires existing and potential customers who trust your organization to meet their expectations and align with their values. Your reputation is the baseline for this: qualities that either exceed expectations or fail to meet expectations. Some examples are superb customer service, frequent discounts, fast scheduling or service appointments, exclusivity through membership, and decades-long involvement in the community.
When developing your brand, it is clear that you have traits you wish to focus on. Perhaps you’re the only company that does service calls on weekends or you offer free shipping for purchases of 15$ or more. These elements are strategic ways to ensure customers find small things that work and add up to big positive brand perception.
Take time to look at your brand message and what elements make your business unique and ensure the client is always the first thought.
be reactive and proactive
Brand perception requires a lot of proactive planning and marketing strategy to build brand awareness and create concrete associations. Creating systems are crucial to encourage the perception and give reason to believe in your business. At the same time, it must be reactive, too, since consumer perceptions are always evolving and it’s crucial to keep a finger on the audience’s pulse.
Ways to be proactive are simple, but require a little bit of time to see the result. Here are some of my favorites:
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Encourage reviews (even incentivize them) and learn from them.
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Set-up a survey for a short period of time to gather data.
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Reply to comments on social media in a timely manner.
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Check hashtags you may have created to see if your customers are using them.
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Change the words you use to describe your business. This is a big one, but if you want to be viewed as a more quality-driven business… avoid using words like “cheap” or “affordable”. Set attributes that fit your business and make them the focal points. Some examples are: customer-driven, responsive, durable, ethical, sourced in the USA, and innovative. Pull words that describe your brand best and start using them to help shift the perception away from negative words.
act on your knowledge
Once you have worked out your customers’ perception of your brand, and you know some more about what makes those customers tick, you can act on your findings. Each company’s road to positive brand perception will be unique, paved by its particular brand message and the expectations of its current and potential customers. It just takes something as simple as a 3-word exercise to get started!
