Do you ever get the sinking feeling that you’ve forgotten to do something? Like thinking that you left the oven on at home, or wondering whether you really did lock your front door…Don’t worry; I’m sure you locked your door this morning, but did you remember to track your brand’s perception this month? This is one thing that a lot of brand managers forget about, which can lead to quite a few problems. After all, if you’re not tracking this then how can you be sure that your audience views your brand in the way you want them to? Not convinced that tracking this factor is important? Read this article to understand the value that tracking brand perception can bring.
What Exactly Is Brand Perception?
Before you can even start to think about tracking it, you need to have a firm understanding of what brand perception is. Otherwise, you might end up on a wild goose chase!
Essentially, it’s
the way in which your audience views and thinks of your brand.
Their image of your brand will be made up of a few different factors, including any first-hand experience they’ve had with your company as well as your brand’s reputation. It’s this perception that makes you more than just a company — it will turn you into a brand that your customers can actively engage with. The more positive the perception is, then the more likely consumers will want to interact with you.
The Best Ways to Track Brand Perception
- Customer Surveys. You can always just be upfront with your target audience and ask them what they think about you. You might need a thick skin, though, as they could be brutally honest with you!
- Social Media Listening. What are people saying about you on the socials? Have a snoop around the likes of Twitter and Facebook by searching for your brand name. Who knows what you might uncover!
- Website Traffic. If there is a sudden dip in your website traffic, it could be a sign that your reputation has taken a turn for the worst.
- Latana. We like stats, facts, and figures here at Latana, and we can show you all the data you need to figure out your current brand perception. We’re the crystal ball that can give you a clear insight into your customers’ minds.
Why Does Brand Perception Matter?
Brand perception can really set the tone for your relationship with customers. Once you know what they all think of you, then you can try to work on these relationships for a much better customer experience.
Lots of companies find it difficult to establish loyal relationships because of review websites and social media these days. It has become ever so easy for customers to discover new companies, and lots of people are now likely to jump ship just to see if they can have a better experience elsewhere. So, by improving your brand perception, you are reducing the likelihood of any customer wanting to try a different company.
Once you start to track your brand perception, you will understand exactly what customers want from you. There’s then no reason to delay in offering this to them. For example, they might want improved UX on your website, while professional clients might prefer more B2B content from you.
Did you know that 60% of brand users refer friends and family? It’s true! Customers that recommend you will likely return to use your brand over and over again. Eventually, they’ll become some very loyal customers indeed. That’s good news for you as it means plenty of sales.
Figuring out what your customers’ overall perception of the brand is should help you to work out the percentage that will refer you. If you’re positive that people are spreading your brand through word of mouth, you can make it even easier for them. Setting up a referral program would be a brilliant way to bring in even more customers!
If the perception is largely negative, you need to have a slightly different approach. Instead of encouraging referrals straight away, it’s more important that you use your brand strategy to start changing people’s minds about you. Before you know it, you’ll start to get referrals left, right, and center!
It’s easy to make assumptions, we all do it! Marketers often assume they already know what their customers think about their brand. But just because it is easy to assume, it doesn’t mean you should! More often than not, you will be way off the mark, which could cost your brand.
One way to beat assumptions is to use a tracking method that guarantees accuracy. How about Latana and our ~2% margin of error? When you use our resources, there will be no more need to presume anymore as you will have reliable data that can give you a handy insight into your audience.
You should now know what your customers are saying about your brand. But do you actually know who they are? Finding out more about them could be the missing link, as it should give you a good idea why they think what they do and why they perceive their brand in the way they do.
When you use Latana, you can segment using various factors — age, geography, gender, income, education. You name it, you can probably segment it! Don’t worry if we don’t already offer an option for what you want to look at, as there is also a way to customize audience characteristics. By tracking these kinds of specifics, you can fine-tune your campaigns so that your brand perception is tailored to exactly what you want.
Boost Brand Perception for Even More Success
Now that you know how to track your brand’s perception, it’s something you should get on top of before too long. You’ll then know just what customers think and will have a good idea of what needs doing to change their perceptions.
Ready to start tracking your brand perception? Get in touch with Latana to see how we can help you start.
Originally published at https://www.latana.com.
