What Is Customer Perception? Definition & Benefits.

By: Locobuzz Editorial
Last Update: June 3, 2024
Reading Time: 13 minutes

What Is Customer Perception? Definition & Benefits We all have preconceived notions and expectations about goods, services, brands, and everything else, which affect how we view experiences and, ultimately, how we react to them. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and visualise your company. How do people feel about the services you provide? How do […]

What Is Customer Perception? Definition & Benefits

We all have preconceived notions and expectations about goods, services, brands, and everything else, which affect how we view experiences and, ultimately, how we react to them. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and visualise your company. How do people feel about the services you provide? How do your items make them feel when they use them? The key idea at the heart of these queries is consumer impression. The opinions, sentiments, and beliefs that customers have about your company are referred to as customer perception. It can have a big impact on parts of your business, including customer loyalty, brand reputation, and satisfaction. Discover the elements that affect customer perception and the significance of fostering a favourable opinion.

What is Customer Perception?

Customer perception is the idea that customers have in their minds about your company. Their perceptions, experiences, and interactions with your brand all have an impact. It combines their opinions and sentiments about your offerings, services, and general brand image.

For Example, Should someone recommend the Samsung Note 7 to you when it comes time to get a new phone, you would turn them down right away. The first thing that would come to mind when you read this is the whole Note 7 phone crisis wherein consumers’ phones burst out of their pockets. People were still afraid to purchase it, even after Samsung said that it had fixed the fault and recalled all of the already-sold devices of this type.

This is a result of the customer’s wholly unfavourable impression of the device. The buyer will be discouraged from completing the transaction and may choose to purchase a different model or perhaps even visit a different brand.

Factors Influencing Customer Perception

Product Quality

A customer’s view of a product is frequently largely based on its quality. Reliable, high-quality products foster a favourable impression. For instance, people are inclined to view a smartphone positively, which is renowned for its performance and longevity.

Customer Service

When a consumer experiences an issue with a product or service, it doesn’t matter how well they perceive your brand and public image—things can go bad very fast. A consumer’s decision to stick with your business or look elsewhere may depend on how your customer service handles a problem. Friendly, prompt, and helpful service can make a lasting impression, especially after a transaction. It demonstrates your availability to customers at all times and your appreciation for them.

Brand image and marketing

It entails developing a distinctive value proposition and matching it to the requirements and preferences of the target customer. A clearly defined positioning plan makes sure a brand stands out, conveys its unique benefits and leaves a lasting effect on customers. Many brands, including Truist, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Patagonia, and others, base their actions and the goods and services they offer around their core beliefs. Make your brand values an integral part of your business and let them shape how your customers perceive you since they might choose to buy from you based on your beliefs and principles.

Pricing and value for money

Perception can be influenced by the cost of goods and services as well as the perceived value for the money. A company that sells high-quality goods at a premium price, for example, can be thought of as a luxury brand. On the other hand, if a product has a lower price compared to similar products on the market, consumers may perceive it as an attractive offer. This can drive purchases, as consumers feel they are getting good value for their money.

Peer Reviews and Recommendations

Customers are more inclined to spread the word about your brand to others if they had a great experience with your brand. Customers looking for products and services may contact your business through online reviews, and their impression of your brand may be significantly impacted by what they read. Testimonials and feedback from customers serve as social evidence. While unfavourable reviews may put off potential clients, positive ratings can foster trust.

Social listening and influencer marketing

In this day and age of technology, the majority of individuals spend their entire day on social media. Social media sites are excellent resources for understanding how customers perceive brands. Businesses can learn how consumers interact with and respond to their products and services by tracking and examining talks, remarks, and mentions about a brand. Everybody is surrounded by several influencers who might affect your mentality both directly and indirectly. It has the instantaneous power to alter a customer’s perception. Influencer marketing frequently works in concert with your overall marketing plan, which may include TV and other media in addition to social media advertising. The premise behind influencer marketing is that people are more inclined to take action if they see others taking it.

Benefits of Positive Customer Perception

Because customers’ perceptions of experiences are influenced by their beliefs, expectations, and attitudes towards brands, products, or services, meeting their expectations is critical to your business’s success. Positive customer impressions can affect whether or not your customers trust your brand to meet their demands and whether they feel that your values align with their own. This may affect whether or not buyers decide to switch to a rival or come back to make future purchases. Customer perception has an impact on three loyalty metrics: customer happiness, likelihood to suggest, and likelihood to make additional purchases. This is why the client experience is so crucial.

Customer perception drives purchasing decisions

Customers’ decisions to purchase your goods or services are directly influenced by how they view your brand. Positive perceptions have the potential to boost loyalty and sales. They view the brand as dependable, trustworthy, and able to fulfil their requirements. On the other hand, a bad customer perception may discourage consumers from interacting with a company, prompting them to look into other options available in the market.

Customer Perception and Brand Image

Your brand’s reputation is built on the opinions of your customers. Good opinions can improve your brand’s reputation and draw in new business by portraying it as a dependable, trustworthy, and customer-focused organisation. On the other hand, a bad impression can damage a brand’s reputation and damage its image in the eyes of customers.

Customer perception can affect customer acquisition and retention

Customers are more inclined than ever to conduct research on a company online before deciding to do business with them in today’s marketplace. You may save your customer acquisition costs and outperform the competition if potential customers have a positive perception of your brand. Satisfied clients frequently recommend your services to others and post about their great experiences on social media and independent review sites. Your brand benefits from free marketing like this, which eventually draws in more clients. Gaining a new client is significantly more expensive than keeping an existing one. They will be more inclined to stay with you instead of selecting your rival if you follow this strategy. Positive perceptions increase the likelihood of retaining customers.

Strengthens the Bond

A significant benefit of positive customer perception is that it fortifies the relationship between the brand and its customers. If a person has had positive experiences there, he is probably going to go there at least once.

Gives Competitive Advantage and Increases Profitability

Businesses can gain a competitive advantage in the market by cultivating positive consumer perception. Additionally, it might aid in setting a brand apart from rivals. Customers’ perceptions about a company’s brand or overall operation can have an impact on its bottom line. In contrast, negative customer insight could result in losses, a positive insight drives better sales and profitability.

How to Measure Customer Perception?

Understanding where your brand stands in the eyes of your target audience requires measuring customer perception. Businesses may make wise judgments to improve their goods, services, and general consumer experience by knowing their thoughts and viewpoints. Here are some metrics that can help you identify or measure how your brand is perceived by your customers.

Customer surveys and feedback

Naturally, getting direct feedback from consumers can help define their specific perception of your brand. There are several ways to conduct surveys, such as email, online forms, or customised follow-up letters. Numerous subjects, including general satisfaction, product quality, customer service, and brand perception, can be included in these surveys. Businesses can integrate many methods of measurement to achieve a holistic understanding of customer perception, utilising their respective strengths. Here’s how surveys and feedback forms can help you effectively analyse customer perceptions:

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

A NPS calculator calculates how likely customers are to suggest your company to others and how loyal they are to you. It is centred around a single inquiry: “How likely are you, on a scale of 0 to 10, to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?” where “most likely” is represented by a value of 10 and “least likely” by 0. Customers are classified as Promoters (scoring 9–10), Passives (scoring 7-8), or Detractors (scoring 0-6) based on their ratings.

NPS = % Promoters – % Detractors

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) is a measurement used to quantify the degree to which customers are satisfied with a service, product or experience. “How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the products/service you received?” is the first question used in the calculation process.

For example, if you received 25 total responses and 15 of them were positive — your CSAT score would be 60% (15 positive responses / 25 total responses = .60 x 100 = 60%).

Social Media monitoring and listening

Globally, there are an estimated 3.48 billion social media users, according to The Next Web. These individuals use platforms to express their ideas and opinions, and they frequently talk about their interactions with certain brands. Businesses can learn how consumers interact with and respond to their goods and services by tracking and examining talks, remarks, and mentions about a brand. Businesses can use social media analytics tools to track important influencers, gauge sentiment, and spot new trends that affect how customers perceive their brand.

Locobuzz is the ultimate tool for this purpose. With Locobuzz, businesses can leverage advanced social media analytics to track important influencers, gauge sentiment, and spot new trends that affect how customers perceive their brand. Unlock the full potential of your social media presence and make informed decisions with Locobuzz.

Website Analytics

Your company’s website frequently acts as the initial point of contact for prospective clients. Making use of website analytics is essential if you want to know how people use your site and how they feel about the brand.

In-depth information about user activity, including the pages users visit most frequently, their length of stay, and the point at which they leave, can be obtained through tools like Google Analytics, Hotjar, or Crazy Egg.

These metrics can help you understand the perception of your customers better:

Bounce Rate:
It is the percentage of visitors who depart after only reading one page. A high bounce rate could mean that visitors aren’t finding your site interesting or relevant.
Website Duration:
The typical amount of time visitors spend on your page. Extended sessions indicate that users are finding your information interesting and useful.
Conversion rate:
The portion of website visitors that complete a desired action, such as buying something or subscribing to a newsletter. This indicates how well visits to your website become leads or clients.

Customer reviews and recommendations

You can learn more about how consumers who have been inspired to leave online reviews feel about your business by compiling data from these reviews. Customer satisfaction, the general perception of a brand, and product experiences may all be gained from reading reviews on sites like Yelp, and Google Reviews, and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Good or bad reviews have a big impact on whether a prospective client chooses you, so be sure you have mechanisms in place to collect reviews on platforms you don’t own and a strategy in place to address any issues raised.

How to Improve Customer Perception?

Provide an Impactful and Personalised Customer Experience

As previously said, first-hand customer experiences have a significant impact on how customers view you and how the public perceives you. You may influence consumers’ favourable opinions of your brand by providing them with memorable experiences, and you can also influence the opinions of others who read the testimonials and social media posts that customers write. Adapt your interactions to each customer’s unique requirements and preferences. Customers can feel appreciated and understood when they receive personalised marketing emails or customised product recommendations.

Customer service should be an obsession

Recall the three main variables that can impact how a customer perceives a business. The most powerful encounters are undoubtedly those that clients have with your business directly. Give priority to promptly, sympathetically, and efficiently handling customer questions and concerns. For instance, a hotel can greatly enhance its reputation as a customer-focused brand by providing timely resolutions to client complaints.

Customer service should be an obsession

Support Social Causes

Identify and support social causes that your audience and brand can get behind. Customers who care about the environment may see a company more favourably if it actively supports environmental efforts. Customers who appreciate social impact are more likely to see your brand favourably if it is clear that it is committed to corporate social responsibility. Our CX Trends Report indicates that 54% of consumers prefer to purchase goods from businesses that value inclusion, diversity, and equity both in the workplace and in their communities, and 63% of consumers prefer to purchase goods from socially conscious businesses.

Product and Content Quality Should Not Be Compromised

Make sure your goods and services constantly live up to your high expectations. For instance, people are likely to think well of a coffee shop that has a reputation for providing consistently excellent coffee and service. Create valuable material for your audience, such as educational blog entries, helpful how-to videos, or captivating videos. This might position your company as a thought leader in the field and a reliable information source.

Respond to Feedback Immediately

Your clients today anticipate a prompt, informative answer, and their expectations for communication are higher than they have ever been. Request client input regularly, and demonstrate your appreciation by acting upon it. You can make the difference between your business stagnating and evolving with the times by leveraging the customer feedback and data you collect to alter the way customers perceive and interact with your brand.

Conclusion

The way your customers perceive your brand is really important. Any company must consider how its customers see it, as this affects everything from sales to brand reputation. It’s a complex idea influenced by a range of elements, such as customer service and product quality. You must concentrate on delivering outstanding customer experiences, utilising evaluations and feedback from customers, and matching consumer expectations and values if you want to cultivate a great customer perception. Businesses may strengthen their customer relationships, increase brand loyalty, and spur growth by comprehending customer perception and taking proactive steps to change it.