The customer is always right. If you haven’t heard that phrase in life, then you likely haven’t an interest in business. Needless to say, there is a correlation between consumer perception and branding. The relationship is something that is often studied, examined, and scientifically diluted down to a formula. A more apt term would be brand perception. In this article, I will make my best attempt at explaining what brand perception’s purpose is and how it can make or break a brand.
Words and Actions
A brand’s perception is defined by numerous components, however, the most important one being their ability to link their words and actions suitably. Words often amount to nothing in the mind of a consumer. Unfortunately, the human condition is not something that is factored out of business, nor is the potential for fraud. Which is exactly why it is important that a brand follows through on their words with actions that align with their values, beliefs, and mission. If a customer does not have faith in your company, then your brand has more work to do. Establishing that trust is crucial for any business.
An example that comes to recent memory is the controversy surrounding the video game, Helldivers 2. For those who are unaware, Helldivers 2 is a third person shooter that was released through Playstation and PC. The player reception was positive for the first several months, becoming a beloved game for a time. However, the problems lay in fine print that was written up after the fact. According to Arrowhead Studios, the creators of the game, Playstation added a clause in their contract to force all PC players to link their Playstation accounts. Neither company was prepared for the game to be as successful as it ended up being (Carcasole, 2024). The issue lies in the fact that anyone who failed to do so would be unable to continue playing the game. This resulted in Playstation walking back the mandate, however, losing 90% of its player base following the controversy (Coulson, 2024). The point being that Playstation, or more predominantly, Sony, lost the trust of their audience, with Arrowhead Studios suffering a great deal because of it. The unfortunate part is that the game itself, no one took much issue with, but it was impacted by the meta discussions that surrounded.
Values and Beliefs
What impacts brand perception almost as much as an alignment of words and actions are values and beliefs. A customer’s beliefs and values may not always align with a company, however, that doesn’t always impact whether or not they engage with that company. The vast majority of customers are not well-informed about the companies they do business with on a day-to-day basis. Grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and gas stations are all businesses that people engage with on a daily basis, yet, rarely does one think about what their values are. To provide an example, the first one that comes to mind is Chick-Fil-A.
Chick-Fil-A has been plagued with numerous controversies surrounding their private beliefs against the LGBTQ+ movement (Del Valle, 2019). The company was founded by Samuel Truett Cathy, a devout Christian whose beliefs guided how he approached business. While his personal beliefs are not enforced by Chick-Fil-A, many members of the LGBTQ+ have taken issue with this fact. However, numerous members of the LGBTQ+ have reported to engage with their company despite those beliefs (Lamour, 2023). This goes to show that those values and beliefs are maybe not as important as words and actions. However, there are consumers that require companies to align with the majority of their beliefs, which is why the controversy started in the first place.
Experience
Experience outranks everything. You can have a thousand good experiences that will look like status quo, but the second you have a bad experience, ‘damage control’ is a term that will be thrown around. Studies show that people are likely to leave reviews when their experience has been either excellent or miserable (Statheapp, 2022). Reports show that 67% of customers are likely to leave good reviews, while only 40% would consider leaving a negative review (Statheapp, 2022). This has changed since Justine Lubag with Rize Reviews (2013) study, which showed that 95% of users were willing to leave a bad review, while 87% were open to sharing their good experiences. Andrew Thomas (2018) remarks that 91% of customers who have a bad experience with your company will not bring repeat business. This is why ensuring that all of the topics discussed in this article are aligned with your overall brand identity.
When it is all said and done, the relationship between consumer perception and branding is a vital one to consider for any business or brand. Your brand only means something if you are respectful of the people who got you there. Hence, why the customer is always right. I hope that you have learned something through this article, and I hope you have an excellent day.
Warmest regards,
Logan Clark
Works Cited
Carcasole, David, et al. “Helldivers 2 PlayStation Network Account Linking Controversy Explained.” PlayStation Universe, 16 May 2024, https://www.psu.com/news/helldivers-2-psn-account-playstation-network-account-linking-controversy-explained/. Accessed 3 July 2024.
Coulson, David. “With Helldivers 2 losing 90% of its player base, the Arrowhead summer break could turn into a disaster for the game.” Video Gamer, 29 June 2024, https://www.videogamer.com/news/with-helldivers-2-losing-90-of-its-player-base-the-arrowhead-summer-break-could-turn-into-a-disaster-for-the-game/. Accessed 3 July 2024.
Lamour, Joseph. “I'm Gay And I Eat At Chick-Fil-A. Should I Feel Ashamed?” TODAY.com, 30 June 2023, https://www.today.com/food/essay/gay-chick-fil-a-customers-rcna91009. Accessed 3 July 2024.
Lubag, Justine. “Why People Are More Likely To Leave a Negative Review Than a Positive Review.” Rize Reviews, 2 February 2023, https://rizereviews.com/why-people-are-more-likely-to-leave-a-negative-review-than-a-positive-review/. Accessed 3 July 2024.
“Percentage Of People Who Leave Reviews After Negative Or Positive Experiences.” Statheap.app, 2022, https://www.statheap.app/stats/people-review-positive-negative-experience. Accessed 3 July 2024.
Thomas, Andrew. “The Secret Ratio That Proves Why Customer Reviews Are So Important.” Inc. Magazine, 26 February 2018, https://www.inc.com/andrew-thomas/the-hidden-ratio-that-could-make-or-break-your-company.html. Accessed 3 July 2024.
Valle, Gaby Del. “Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ controversies, explained.” Vox, 19 November 2019, https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/29/18644354/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-donations-homophobia-dan-cathy. Accessed 3 July 2024.