Managing Consumer Perceptions in Marketing

¶ … perception allow them to change behavior? For most people, behavior is something that is habitual. We often buy the same things, and we do the same things. The challenge for a marketer is to change that behavior, to buy a different product or do something differently that involves their product. Often, perceptions are subconscious in the way that they effect behavior. People do not realize how perceptions govern their behavior. But there are many examples -- a good one is Apple.

They cultivate a specific perception about their products, and that perception changes the behavior of consumers. A consumer might prefer to carry with them the premium image of an Apple computer rather than a comparable product from another manufacturer. Studies have noted that people will change their travel spending plans in response to a shift in perception of a certain place, for example if a country becomes viewed as being unsafe (Sonmez & Graefe, 1998). Marketers can influence these perceptions as well.

A marketer might choose to highlight a country's positive attributes, and with something like a social media campaign can highlight that many people are going to that country and having great experiences. Colombia is a country that has reshaped its image through a campaign of promoting corporate travel, of using social media to highlight that the security situation there has changed, and by focusing on the multiple positive attributes that it has to offer. This is part of message framing, which is a key marketing function (Rothman & Salovey, 1997).

A company that wishes to improve its perception with respect to something like sustainability, for example, can begin to input that framing into the way it promotes itself. Perceptions usually do not change quickly, but over time the message can be framed in a way that spurs people to think subconsciously about the connection between the issue and the company. This can create a shift in perception. Once the shift in perception has occurred, the consumer is going to be more receptive to a request to change behavior.

If the perception remains unchanged, the consumer will have no motivation to change behavior. With a new perception, the consumer might, however. The consumer might decide to consider Colombia for a vacation, for example, or revisit an old product they had given up on, if there is the perception that the product has been reformulated and is cool again. 2.

What positioning statements do you see in the mobile cell phone or wireless carrier marketplace? Are the statements effective? In the cell phone marketplace, companies seek to compete on a number of bases. Some companies are targeting the low end, and rely less on branding than on being price competitive. A company like Samsung that competes at the high end must frame their business in a way that encourages customers to try their products.

The Samsung Galaxy is locked in a battle for market share at the top end of the market with the iPhone, and therefore must find a way to convince the market that it has the best offering. This is especially important because Apple is a marketing powerhouse. Samsung's positioning is the result of a few different factors. First, it positions on price and features, which are the two ways that products tend to be positioned in the smartphone market.

The price point and feature-rich products clearly put Samsung at the top end of the market; only one other product can compete with what Samsung is offering. Yet, Samsung does not offer much in the way of compelling slogans. They have things like "take whatever life throws at you" and "Next is now," and the more effective "beautiful outside and powerful inside." These positioning statements actually appear to frame the Galaxy versus other Android products, rather than against the iPhone.

What Samsung is doing then is pursuing the non-Apple market, seeking to ensure that the market knows that the Galaxy is the best Android phone on the market. I would view these statements as merely complementary to the other aspects of positioning. First, they do not do much to challenge the iPhone. The Galaxy has a bigger share globally (IDC, 2015) but is losing share to Apple in the U.S. (IDC, 2015). This, to me, means that the positioning that Samsung is pursuing is not particularly effective.

It is losing share at the lower end to upstarts like Huawei and Xiaomi, and is bleeding share at the high end to Apple. Samsung's positioning as the superior Android phone is believed by the market, but that is not necessarily the value proposition many consumers seek. That Samsung seems reluctant to tackle the iPhone head on -- the positioning statements do not offer consumers a reason to choose the Galaxy over the iPhone and do not really attempt to do so -- is hurting them in North America.

I would say that these weak positioning statements are not particularly effective in terms of positioning and are at best complementary to the product and price in terms of defining the Galaxy. 3. Find an academic article on Perception or Positioning. The paper discuses one of the important elements of perceptions in business. Businesses that are perceived to be unethical, or to have unethical business practices, are at greater risk for consumer response to those perceptions. Thus, organizations pay a lot of attention to how they are perceived in the marketplace.

The authors looked at a couple of different things. The first is culture's influence on the formation of ethics. The idea is that different cultures will have different ideas about what constitutes unethical behavior. The authors looked at cultural traits from Hofstede, and found that power distance and uncertainty avoidance are both related to having idealistic ethical attitudes while masculinity and individualism were associated with egoistic attitudes. These findings have implications for perceptions management.

In some countries consumers are much more sensitive to perceived unethical behavior, and draw the line with respect to what that behavior is, tighter. In other countries, consumers are more permissive of ethical grey areas, and are less likely to let perceptions of ethics affect their consumer behavior. The authors further identified that, across different cultures, males and older individuals were more likely to have idealistic views and would therefore react more strongly with perceived unethical marketing practices.

Egoism in particular was linked to strong perceptions and responses to perceptions of unethical behavior. The key finding is that more idealistic people are more likely to believe the best in a company while others are more apt to see perceived unethical marketing practices as indicative of broader lack of ethics, and.