How companies want to be perceived and how they are actually perceived

Companies that care about their future and are results-oriented certainly have strategic objectives outlined through their goals, in terms of revenue, sales, market share, product line, growth and segmentation. However, a considerably relevant point must also be taken into consideration by attributing action, monitoring and measuring how your target perceives them. Do they understand your company, your product line, your distribution channel and do they think the price paid for what you propose to offer is fair? Are your company’s values ​​and differences understood correctly? Does the way you present yourself to the market have the expected effect?

The key point of this article refers to promoting the discussion of the relationship between concepts considered basic in marketing such as Brand, Brand Identity, Positioning and Brand Image, but which in some cases are not treated, in practice, as fundamental aspects by organizations. , for reasons of internal structure, lack of knowledge or even deviation of priority, which can lead to the decline of a product, the reduction of its added value and even the closure of the company, if this – through a myopic internal and external vision – does not have the structure to support an “unexpected” reduction in sales or the failure to launch a new product/service, for example.

It is clear that at the current stage of the market, whatever the sector, the adoption of a brand is important for the development and durability of a business. However, it is observed that it is not enough to just create a brand, it is necessary to manage it, so that it always preserves or increases its value. Creating a coherent, consistent and focused brand involves knowledge of the company’s identity, knowledge that is based on intrinsic attributes such as values, beliefs, policies, objectives, actions, strategies, mission and culture – in addition to external aspects such as the analysis of competitors and consumer needs, aiming to express something different and unique to the market. Through identity, displayed by any means of communication – whether positive or negative – consumers have their impressions of the brand (Image), however, as not everything is perfect, what the company goes through is not always what the market really perceives. (which would be ideal), therefore, marketing efforts must converge towards minimizing the dissonance between image and identity, avoiding and reducing possible perceptual deviations, thus ensuring that a brand becomes sustainable in the segment that acts.

The management of the image perceived by customers must be treated meticulously, to this end organizations must have their identity and positioning clear and defined, in addition to really knowing who they are and what their objectives are in the short, medium and long term, in order to establish investments in capturing data and information through field research with your target, with multivariate systems being suggested, such as cluster analysis, so that it is possible to acquire related data, significantly increasing the complexity, support and reality of the information, thus consistently reducing risks of mistaken decision-making.

In short, there is no point in a company wanting to be seen in one way, but in reality having its image distorted in the minds of consumers. It is up to the managers of these institutions to discern the degree of relevance of this issue and establish their strategies for developing a solid identity, expressing them to the target market effectively and adopting constant measures to assess whether everything is being interpreted correctly.

By: Guilherme dos Santos Teixeira

He is a communications, branding and planning consultant. Administrator from ESPM-SP and Postgraduate in Marketing Management from Insper-SP, with specialization in Market Intelligence (Ibramerc-SP) and Strategic Business Management (FGV-SP).