Image Building Efforts and the Perceptions of Customers

There are many different elements and qualities related to the company or brand that affect customers’ perceptions when creating an image. One of these elements is the name of the brand, which is the first link to the company or product, for the customer. When a company makes strategic decisions about the target image it plans to achieve in its customers’ minds, one of the major decisions is to choose the three main features wanted in an image. This means that a company needs to choose three key features which are the most significant to

be perceived by customers and which will be strongly emphasized in marketing. These key features are those that the company wants to be strongly linked to the image of its brand.

(Rope & Mether 2001, 106 – 107)

The different features and dimensions of an image can be easily demonstrated with image feature co-ordinates (see Figure 6). The basis of the image feature co-ordinates is that there are certain features which are paired, referring to their perceived opposition in people’s minds. This means that, for instance, a company or brand which has a high grade in inexpen-siveness cannot simultaneously have a high grade in high quality level. Similarly, a highly tra-ditional brand cannot be simultaneously ultra-modern. In practice, it can be said that when a brand has an image of being high quality, it cannot be perceived as affordable, and vice versa. A company should be aware of these opposite paired features and choose the target features accordingly. It is important to realize, as in reality emphasizing all the possible posi-tive features is not possible, and is likewise unrealistic as a target image.

(Rope & Mether 2001, 107 – 108)

Figure 6: An example of image feature co-ordinates (Rope & Mether 2001, 107)

When a person creates an image starting from a pure image, to a permanent image, to an inner truth, it occurs in five different phases: In the first phase, the phase of having

aware-Affordable

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Festive

Modern Ordinary

Quality

Traditional

Domestic International

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

ness, the brand or the company is usually only known by its name. In the second phase, the phase of acquaintance, a person knows more elements related to the brand than solely a name, all of these other elements affecting the image being created. These other elements can be, for instance, the actual products or services, pricing, communication style, the em-ployees of the company, the physical premises and the physical equipment of the company.

The more the potential customers can remember of these elements, the more permanent the image becomes in their minds. (Rope & Mether 2001, 108 – 113)

In the third phase, the phase of creating attitudes, the potential customer can create tive, negative or neutral attitudes towards the brand or the company. It is essential that posi-tive attitudes are created towards those features that are valued by the target groups of the company. In the fourth phase, the phase of creating preferences, it is essential that in certain qualities the company or brand is perceived as superior compared to competitors. These qualities should be valued by the target groups and also be the basis for their purchase deci-sions. This means that based on the positive attitudes created towards the company or the brand, the company should be able to differentiate itself in the market with certain qualities.

These qualities can be functional, for instance, price, quality, selection, or service, to name a few. The differentiation can also be based on personality features, such as conservative, modern, traditional, flexible, joyful, liberal, or sporty. In the fifth final phase, the phase of experiencing, it is determined how the company is able to meet the customer’s expectations.

This phase of experiencing corresponds to the customer’s current personal truth. This means that the customer believes in the image created in his or her mind. When the experience matches with the messages being marketed previously, it strengthens positively the image created in the customer’s mind. This also affects the customer’s decision whether or not to buy the brand again. (Rope & Mether 2001, 113 - 115)

When considering the profile of the image, there are many different factors that can affect the profile, meaning all the different factors that can be sensed by customers. The first of these factors is the business idea of the company, which determines the general limits and expectations for the possible image. The second factor which can influence the profile of the image is the corporate culture. It is related to the core values of the company, such as qual-ity, punctualqual-ity, or being a pioneer, which can be seen in all of the operations of the com-pany. The third factor consists of the functional principles of the company, which are related to both the business idea and the corporate culture of the company. Further, the company management and the CEO have a significant impact on the image created by customers, the impact being either direct or indirect. Similarly, the place of business, including premises, the interiors and physical locations of the company, can influence the image especially in cases when customers visit the physical premises of the company. The personnel of the com-pany, including their politeness, general behaviour and their appearance, always influences

the image created by the customer. This concerns all the employees in the company who have encounters with the customers. (Rope & Mether 2001, 118 – 121)

Also the physical equipment of the company, such as cars, has an impact on the image cre-ated by customers and therefore the profile of the image. Of all the other factors, a very significant factor influencing the image is the actual products (or services). This includes all the different selections the company has, and also all the features of a single product includ-ing physical attributes and image elements. In addition, pricinclud-ing has a significant impact, as it supports the image being created by the other factors. This being the case, the price should not be too low when other factors indicate high quality. Finally, communication is the ulti-mate factor affecting the image and therefore the profile of the image. The communication efforts of the company can be seen in various ways, for instance, via the sales-force and mar-keting efforts. More specifically, a company communicates via various elements, such as logo, slogan, advertising style, message content, font style, and marketing channels.

(Rope & Mether 2001, 121 - 123)

When a company is building a new brand, it should be able to gain recognition for it in a way that potential customers would start to recognize the logo. The brand has to be known by name and also be largely perceived as good, among those who recognize it. When the new brand is gaining recognition of these levels, it can be said that the product or service being marketed has reached a brand level. (Rope & Mether 2001, 128 - 129)

A good image adds value to a single product or a service. One of the main objectives in build-ing a good image for a brand is to increase its value. This means that the company is able to sell the product or service with the best possible price. Pricing always indicates the value of the product or service, and it also helps to create and maintain the value. Value is also di-rectly related to quality. As far as quality is concerned, it has many different elements. The objective quality refers to the real level of quality, in other words, the quality of the product or service in reality. The objective quality depends on different factors, such as the capabil-ity of the R&D, skills, raw material used, meticulousness, and the equipment used by the company. Another element in quality is how it is experienced by customers. The subjective quality refers to the customer’s perceptions about the quality of the product or service. The factors affecting the subjective quality are for instance, name, the brand itself, symbol, col-ours used, packaging, and the general appearance. The value of the product perceived by the customer is created from the combination of the objective and subjective quality. When a company is able to build a higher value and the level of quality for its brand in the minds of its customers, it can also set a higher price level. Occasionally, it may occur that the value perceived by the customers does not match with the value perceived by the company.

(Rope & Mether 2001, 129 - 143)

As the level of recognition, referring to how widely the brand is recognized among the target groups, and the level of goodness are the factors affecting the image perceived by the target market, they also provide the basis for developing the image. When determining the position of an image in a particular market segment or a target group, the findings can be divided into four sections as it is demonstrated in Figure 7:

Figure 7: The position of an image (Rope & Mether 2001, 220)

Square A (= unknown):

In the first section A, in the lower left square, the company or the brand is still quite un-known among the target group. For a new product which is being launched, it is normal to be placed in this square. However, is not very uncommon that companies which have operated in the market for a long time are not well known in the market.

Square B (= ”sadly famous”):

Section B, in the lower right square, refers to a situation where the product or the company has suffered from a certain kind of negative publicity. As a result, everyone knows it, but not in a positive context. A company should strictly avoid the square B.

Square C (= valued by a narrow customer group):

The section C, in the upper left square, refers to a situation where the company is not widely known by the larger target market. However, inside a target segment is found a relatively

C = Valued by a narrow customer group

D = Widely positive ima-ge

A =

Unknown B =

"Sadly famous"

Goodness of the image/target group

Recognition/

target group

small group of customers who know the brand well and also value it. In some cases it can be preferable for a company to be placed in this square, especially when the sales volume cre-ated by this narrow customer group is sufficient enough, and also when the company does not have bigger plans for growth.

Square D (= widely positive image):

Section D, in the upper right square, indicates that the company is widely known in the ket and perceived as good. This means that either the brand has a strong position in the mar-ket, or that the company has succeeded in a launching campaign or in some other campaign.

Accordingly, the brand is known by the target group and in a positive context.

(Rope & Mether 2001, 219 – 221)

Nevertheless, when a company is placed in a certain square, it does not automatically corre-spond to the demand towards the company in the market. Occasionally it may occur that a company is widely known and has an image perceived as positive, but is still not as appealing to the target group when compared to the competitors. The customers in the target group prefer the competitor’s products simply because they like them more. This is an important aspect to consider when analyzing and making decisions related to the image.

(Rope & Mether 2001, 221 - 224)

When a product or a company is placed in square A, a company needs to decide to target either square C or square D. To achieve a position in square D usually requires a big and strong marketing campaign or a combination of other activities, where the target audience becomes familiar with the brand at once. After this phase, the company can start to deepen the image and strengthen the position in the market. When the company wants to achieve a position in square C within a shorter time period, it can be done with much less marketing effort and with much fewer costs, when compared to moving from square A to square D. A company that wants to have a largely known brand should strive for achieving a position in square D. However, when the company does not have big plans for growth, a position in square C is a good strategic option. Even when a brand has a position in square D, there needs to be a continuous visibility and marketing activities for the brand, to remind the customers and maintain the interest in the market. (Rope & Mether 2001, 221 - 224)