The Crucial Role of Brand Perception in Today's Market

Recently, there has been a significant shift in awareness. Globally and particularly in Nigeria, people are paying more attention to brand reviews, testimonials, and customer complaints. These factors are increasingly influential in guiding consumers' decisions towards or away from a brand.

One might ask, "Should what someone thinks about me as a brand matter?" or "Shouldn’t people experience my brand to form an opinion?" These are valid questions. However, in the realm of brand building, things don't always work rationally. Everything you do as a brand will have an outcome and an impact.

So, what is a brand, and why should you be conscious of your interactions with people? Above all else, a brand is a promise kept. You become a brand when you appeal to someone, and this appeal is a promise. As long as the promise is kept, you will receive positive reviews from those who interact with you.

From my Marketing 101, anything can be a brand. Anything you can offer to someone willing to accept it and even pay for it is a brand. It can be a place, property, organization, goods and services, experience, information, idea, event, or person—anything from which you can create value and sell to a willing individual or business.

Let’s delve into some academic definitions of the word "brand." Traditionally, the American Marketing Association defines a brand as "a name, term, symbol, or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from competitors." This definition emphasizes the importance of a brand being identifiable and differentiated from others in its domain.

Modern marketing, however, approaches the definition of a brand from a more emotional perspective. "A brand is a promise made to the consumers to deliver certain tangible and intangible values each time they make contact with the object of the brand—product, services, experience, etc." This view highlights a brand as a relationship. If we see a brand as a promise that must be kept, our approach to branding would shift positively, impacting our brand-building efforts.

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, once defined a brand as "what people say about you when you are not in the room." Brands must understand that they won’t always be in the room to defend themselves. People judge your brand based on their experiences and what they’ve heard or read about you. This aligns with the Yoruba adage, "Don’t do is don’t say." If you don’t want people to say negative things about you, don’t engage in actions that would prompt such feedback. At the very least, make some effort to maintain a positive image.

This brings me to the subject of this article—brand perception. In a stimulating discussion with my MSc students, we reviewed several definitions of 'brand perception' and concluded that many brands fail to evolve according to their mission statement because they neglect the true meaning of brand perception.

What is brand perception? Let’s start with an image from Premium Partners: "Perception is reality." We all perceive things differently—a glass of water can be seen as half full or half empty. Both perspectives are correct. The Fox News brand offers a perfect example. To loyalists, Fox News is perceived as "fair and balanced," while to detractors, it is quite the opposite.

These examples illustrate brand perception but do not fully define it. What you think is good for you may not be the reality. Since brands cannot control what people think or say about them, they must ensure that the right message is consistently communicated. If you don’t tell your story, people will attempt to tell it for you in their own way.

We admire brands like Rolls Royce without ever having experienced them firsthand, basing our views on what we have heard or read. David Bohm aptly said, "The reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe… What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is the reality that we live in."

Brands make promises through their positioning statements, but only to the extent that they keep these promises. Brand positioning is a core component of brand development. As a value creation consultant, I advise brands to ensure their proposition statements clearly identify the benefits consumers derive from the brand. A good proposition should not only focus on benefits but also include the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), highlighting benefits that no other brand can provide.

For me, brand perception is the intersection between brand promise and brand experience. You cannot have a valid perception without these two elements. The brand is the promise it makes, and the experience is the extent to which that promise is kept. When consistently kept, the perception is positive; otherwise, it is negative.

So, what is a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? It is a statement that describes how your brand is different and hopefully better than all other alternatives in its domain. It takes something unique about you and explains how it benefits your target audience using simple and emotionally connecting words or phrases.

Many brands use their USPs as slogans or payoff lines to reach as many prospective customers as possible. At CPPL, we say we "Create value through consumer insights." Brands like Avis say, “We’re number two. We try harder.” The “We Try Harder” campaign was so successful that Avis’ market share increased from 11% to 35% in just four years.

FedEx used to say, “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” This slogan was a perfect example of a great USP, providing a guarantee of timely delivery and security. Sadly, FedEx replaced it with “The World on Time,” which lacks the same power.

In Nigeria, brands also have inspiring taglines. Innoson Motors says, “We will take you there,” and MTN’s slogan is, “Everywhere you go.” Fidelity Bank promises, “We are Fidelity, we keep our word.”

There is no exact formula for creating an inspiring slogan, but it must be catchy, well-crafted, and reflective of the brand's values and mission.

Customers, not companies, own brand perception. It stems from customer use, experience, functionality, reputation, and word-of-mouth—both on social media and face-to-face. Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to brand perception from the customer’s point of view. What the customer thinks is what truly matters. People talk about Rolex as if they own one because of the strong image the brand has created. The same goes for Rolls Royce, with its strong market presence and motto, "Strive for perfection in everything you do." Everything about Rolls Royce speaks to this, just as Rolex’s "A crown for every achievement" does.

In conclusion, a brand cannot be fully defined in a few lines. Brands are conditional, intangible, and legal assets that signal perceived value to all stakeholders. This perceived value ranges from functional to psychological associations and is influenced by interactions over time, driven by the organization’s vision. The challenge for most brands is minimizing the gap between brand identity and perception.

A positive brand perception is a shortcut to success. If customers believe in your brand, they will be more confident in purchasing your products. Other businesses will be more interested in partnering with you. Launching new products becomes easier, and you will cultivate loyal followers—an asset for any business.

The ultimate goal of brand perception programs is to develop brand equity—the extra value a recognizable name provides over generic equivalents. High brand equity ensures that when customers are confronted with a buying decision, they feel more confident and comfortable choosing your brand.

Indeed, brand perception is everything. Get it right, and you are set for success, whether as a personal or business brand. As a value creation consultant, I always advise my clients to pay attention to what customers are saying about their brand. Perception is reality.

Ikechukwu Kalu is the Lead Consultant at Customer Passion Point Limited (CPPL), a firm of Value Creation Consultants providing Marketing, SME Consulting, and Training. He has contributed to the development of great brands across manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial services. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, London, and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), an Adjunct Lecturer at Pan Atlantic University, and a Resource Person at Lagos Business School. Contact: ikechuk@gmail.com or call/WhatsApp on 08032002458.