One of the most important roles of marketing is making sure that the message of the company is correctly getting across to the consumer. One of the hardest lessons for small business owners is understanding the power of perception!
Perception is defined as the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something thru the senses. What major companies invest in that many small business don't is making sure they exercise the power of perception. What a business puts in their business plan and mission statement must be executed to a point that it is clear to the consumer. For example, over the last 2 years McDonald's a leader in brand management has made a huge effort in transforming their restaurants. McDonald's recognized the power in the growing coffee market because of the much faster pace society that we are in now and how companies like Starbucks were raking in huge profits off this market. When McDonalds and Starbucks negotiations to partner on catering to this market fell thru McDonalds immediately started the transformation of their restaurants. If you notice a lot of the loud colors of the fast pace McDonalds are gone. Flat screen TVs are on the news all day. Newspapers are available for customers. The fresh smell of coffee is in the air every morning at McDonalds. McDonalds the number one market share holder of restaurants in 2012 at around 25% of the market saw a growing competitor Starbucks on the rise with a little over 10% of the market and over $13 billion in revenue. Offering better coffee was a good move, but understanding the power of perception McDonalds did much more. They in fact made all stores reflect the settings that have made coffee houses across the world more appealing to the fast pace digital era we all now live in. Since 2009 when McDonalds first started to expand its coffee offerings, coffee sales have surged 70%.
Now the question is how does the coffee quest of McDonalds relate to small business and the power of perception. As a marketing manager I see it like this, if a company as large as McDonalds with a brand as strong as theirs, when they feel the need to change their perception in order to compete it must be a major factor into success. The question small business operators need to ask themselves is, when customers walk into my business does the perception match our mission statement? It is often small over looked things that speaks volumes into a business perception. While helping a client better use their front patio I had an opportunity to show them the power of perception. To the right of my client which is a restaurant lounge is a small steak house with a front patio. Customers of the steak house never slowed down to even see what my client had to offer. I told them the steak house has tables out front and you have lounge furniture. The perception is that the focus is on lounging and nightlife. My client didn't think it was a big deal but allowed me to make a change. While I was taking the lounge furniture out and replacing with outdoor dining tables with the owner, almost every customer headed to the steak house that passed my client stopped and asked about my client and what type of restaurant it is. This was a great way for me to show my client that perception is a major factor in the business marketing plan. Even when you don't have the funds of a large company that has huge budgets for marketing research and analysis, sometimes it is just as simple as looking at how small things speak for or against your message. I originally hated that as a marketing major I had to take a psychology class. Once I completed the course it made all the sense in the world. It is small psychological messages that build perception. So small business owners make sure that you regularly take a look at your business and make sure the message in your mission statement is what is being perceived by your customers. I will close by sharing this amazing mind blowing video from Derren Brown about mind control and the power of perception.
Perception is defined as the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something thru the senses. What major companies invest in that many small business don't is making sure they exercise the power of perception. What a business puts in their business plan and mission statement must be executed to a point that it is clear to the consumer. For example, over the last 2 years McDonald's a leader in brand management has made a huge effort in transforming their restaurants. McDonald's recognized the power in the growing coffee market because of the much faster pace society that we are in now and how companies like Starbucks were raking in huge profits off this market. When McDonalds and Starbucks negotiations to partner on catering to this market fell thru McDonalds immediately started the transformation of their restaurants. If you notice a lot of the loud colors of the fast pace McDonalds are gone. Flat screen TVs are on the news all day. Newspapers are available for customers. The fresh smell of coffee is in the air every morning at McDonalds. McDonalds the number one market share holder of restaurants in 2012 at around 25% of the market saw a growing competitor Starbucks on the rise with a little over 10% of the market and over $13 billion in revenue. Offering better coffee was a good move, but understanding the power of perception McDonalds did much more. They in fact made all stores reflect the settings that have made coffee houses across the world more appealing to the fast pace digital era we all now live in. Since 2009 when McDonalds first started to expand its coffee offerings, coffee sales have surged 70%.
Now the question is how does the coffee quest of McDonalds relate to small business and the power of perception. As a marketing manager I see it like this, if a company as large as McDonalds with a brand as strong as theirs, when they feel the need to change their perception in order to compete it must be a major factor into success. The question small business operators need to ask themselves is, when customers walk into my business does the perception match our mission statement? It is often small over looked things that speaks volumes into a business perception. While helping a client better use their front patio I had an opportunity to show them the power of perception. To the right of my client which is a restaurant lounge is a small steak house with a front patio. Customers of the steak house never slowed down to even see what my client had to offer. I told them the steak house has tables out front and you have lounge furniture. The perception is that the focus is on lounging and nightlife. My client didn't think it was a big deal but allowed me to make a change. While I was taking the lounge furniture out and replacing with outdoor dining tables with the owner, almost every customer headed to the steak house that passed my client stopped and asked about my client and what type of restaurant it is. This was a great way for me to show my client that perception is a major factor in the business marketing plan. Even when you don't have the funds of a large company that has huge budgets for marketing research and analysis, sometimes it is just as simple as looking at how small things speak for or against your message. I originally hated that as a marketing major I had to take a psychology class. Once I completed the course it made all the sense in the world. It is small psychological messages that build perception. So small business owners make sure that you regularly take a look at your business and make sure the message in your mission statement is what is being perceived by your customers. I will close by sharing this amazing mind blowing video from Derren Brown about mind control and the power of perception.