CONSUMER PERCEPTION
Perception is the process by which people select, organize, and interpret sensations, i.e. the immediate response
of sensory receptors (such as the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and fingers) to such basic stimuli as light, colour,
odour, texture, and sound. Anything that activates a receptor is called a stimulus. The study of perception
focuses on what we add to raw sensations in order to give them meaning. Each individual interprets themeaning
of a stimulus to be consistent with his orher own unique biases, needs, and experiences. As the Figure given
below shows, the three stages of exposure, attention, and interpretation make up the process ofperception.
The Perception Process
Overall perception is simply the process of (i)selecting,(ii)organizing,and(iii)interpreting information inputs in
order to produce meaning that would aid in consumption decision-making. At the exposure phase, information
inputs are sensations received through our sense organs (i.e., sight, taste, hearing, smell, and touch). For
example, when we see or hear an advertisement, smell or touch a product, we receive information inputs. These
processes are collectively referred to as the process of perception.
PROCESSOF PERCEPTION
The following is the process of perception:
1. Exposure
Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within the range of someone’s sensory receptors— sight, smell or
touch. Consumers may either tend to concentrate on certain stimuli while being completely unaware of others,
or they may even go out of their way to ignore certain messages.
2. Attention
Attention refers to the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus. Consider, for
example, the thought of having to sit through both interesting and “less interesting” lectures. This can vary
depending on both the characteristics of the stimulus (i.e., the lecture itself) and the recipient (i.e., your mental
state at that time). Consumers often are in a state of sensory overload, where they are exposed to far more
information than they can process. Taken from a marketing perspective, we are often bombarded withmarketing
stimuli from commercial sources, thus making the competition for our attention an ever-increasing
phenomenon.
3. Interpretation
Interpretation refers to the meaning that we assign to sensory stimuli. Just as people differ in terms of the
stimuli that they perceive, the meanings we assign to these stimuli vary as well. Two people can see or hear the
same event, but their interpretation of it can be as different as night and day, depending on what they had
expected the stimulus to be. The meaning we assign to a stimulus depends on the schema (i.e., set of beliefs), to
which we assign it. Identifying and evoking the correct schema is crucial to many marketing decisions because
this determines what criteria consumers will use to evaluate the product, package, or message.
PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
Our brains tend to relate incoming sensations to others already in memory, based on some fundamental
organizational principles. These principles derive from Gestalt psychology, a school of thought that maintains
that people interpret meaning from the totality of a set of stimuli rather than from any individual stimulus. In
other words, the concept suggests that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” By implication, a
piecemeal perspective that analyses each component of the stimulus separately cannot capture the total effect.
The Gestalt perspective provides several principles relating to the way our brains organize stimuli. Three
principles are worth elaborating here:
1. The closure principle states that people tend to perceive an incomplete picture as complete. For example,
when we hear only part of a jingle or theme. Marketing strategies that use the closure principle encourage
audience participation, which increases the chance that people will attend to the message.
2. The principle of similarity tells us that consumers tend to group together objects that share similar physical
characteristics. Green Giant relied on this principle when the company redesigned the packaging for its line of
frozen vegetables. It created a “sea of green” look to unify all of its different offerings.
3. The figure-ground principle states that one part of a stimulus will dominate (the figure), and other parts
recede into the background (the ground). The figure is dominant, and the eye goes straight to it. For example,
70% off could be the eye catcher for a pair ofray ban sunglasses but, on closer inspection, you might notice that
the offer is subject to certain terms and conditions.
SENSORY SYSTEMS
Talking of the process of perception, you may recall that we are first exposed to stimuli before any serious
attention may be given. Such exposure is obviously to our sensory receptors and the processing occurs within
our sensory systems. For example, we can receive external stimuli, or sensory inputs, on a number of channels.
We may see a billboard, hear a jingle, feel the silkiness of a quality saree (traditional South Asian dress), taste a
new flavour of Turkish coffee, or smell of the Arabian musk. The inputs our five senses detect are the raw data
that begin the perceptual process. For example, sensory data emanating from the external environment (e.g.,
hearing a music clip on the radio) can generate internal sensory experiences when the song triggers a young
man’s memory of his encounterwith his bride and brings to mind the smell of her perfume as they finally get to
meet in her court. The unique sensory quality of a product can play an important role in helping itstand out from
competition, especially if the brand creates a unique association with the sensation. In recent years, the sensory
experiences we receive from products and services have become an even larger priority when wechoose among
competing products and/or brands. Table 7.1 provides an illustration of the five senses and how these impact
upon our perceptual processing.
PerceptionandtheUseofSenses
1. Smell
Smell, good or bad (i.e. aroma or odour), can stir up emotions or create a calming effect – especially in the case
of aromas. They can also invoke memories or relieve stress, as in the case of aromatherapy (where scents are
used forhealing).Onestudy foundthat consumers whoviewed ads for eitherflowersor chocolate and whoalso were
exposed to flowery or chocolatey odours spent more time processing the product information and were
morelikely totryoutdifferent alternativeswithin eachproductcategory. Manyconsumerscontrol the odoursin their
environments and this growing interest has created and/or re-created a lot of new products in recent years.
Overall, the sense of smell is related to pleasure and well-being and is closely connected to emotions and
memories.
2. Sound
The sense of sound is linked to emotions and feelings and the sense impacts brand experiences and
interpretations. It is by no coincidence that we are bombarded with the sound of music all the time. Obviously,
our senses and especially vision (sight) cannot seem to work in isolation in today’s consumerist world. Think
about how Radio advertisements tend to trail their TV counterparts in marketers’ ad spend. Better still think
about howyou would feel watching amoviewhile thevolumecontrol is on mute. Could it bepureaccident that
electronics manufacturers launched the “home theatre” surround system for our enjoyment of movies?
3. Taste
Our taste receptors obviously contribute to our experience of many products. So-called “flavour houses” keep
busy developing new concoctions to please the changing palates of consumers. Scientists are right behind them
as they develop new devices to test these flavours. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo use the tongue to test the quality of
corn syrups, whereas drugs manufacturers such as Roche have been known to use the device to devisemedicines
that do not taste bitter.1 Changes in our culture also determine the tastes we find desirable. For example,
consumers’ greater appreciation of different ethnic dishes has contributed to increased desires forspicy foods.
For example, Nandos, the Portuguese/South African restaurant chain, is popular for its peri-peri chicken and
dishes.
4. Touch
Although scientists have done relatively little research on the effects of tactile stimulation on consumer
behaviour, common observation tells us that this sensory channel is important. Consider the classic, contoured
Coca-Colabottle,which wasdesignedtosatisfytherequest ofaUSbottlerforasoft-drinkcontainerthatpeople could
identify even in the dark. Indeed, sensations that reach the skin, whether from a luxurious massage or the chill
of a winter wind, stimulate or relax us. Researchers even have shown that touch can influence sales interactions.
Britain’s Asda supermarket (a part of the Walmart Group) is reported to have removed the wrapping from
several brands of toilet tissue in its stores so that shoppers could feel and compare textures—an experiment that
resulted in soaring sales for its own in-store brand by up to 50% increase in shelf space.
5. Vision
Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging. They communicate
meanings on the visual channel through a product’s colour, size, and styling. Philips gives its electronics a
younger feel by making them thinner and more colourful. Colours may even influence our emotions more
directly. Evidencesuggests that some colours (particularly red) createfeelings ofarousal and stimulateappetite,
and others (such as blue) create more relaxing feelings. Yet others such as golden may suggest luxury, etc.
Some reactions to colour come from learned associations. In Western countries, black is the colour ofmourning,
whereas in most Arab countries, white plays this role. In addition, while the colour black may be
associatedwithpowerinwesternworld(thinkoftheNewZealandAllBlacks rugbyteam),thesamemaynotbe the case in
the Arab world in which the black colour is worn by women of decency in the traditional Abaya. Other
reactions are a result of biological and cultural differences. Women are drawn toward brighter tones and they
are more sensitive to subtle shades and patterns. Some scientists have argued that age influences our
responsiveness to colour—as we get older, our eyes mature and our vision blurs. Consequently, colours tend to
look duller to older people, so they prefer white and other bright tones. This helps to explain why mature
consumers are much more likely to choose a white car—Lexus, which sells heavily in this market, makes 60%
[Link],mostconsumersintheArabworldtendtooptforwhitecarsasbeing
very good heat conductors (arguably white cars tend to be cooler especially in the hot summer months).
Meanwhile, there have been muted perceptions about white coloured cars having very marginal second-hand
value in countries such as the UK.
PERCEPTUAL DISTORTION
People can form different perceptions of the same stimulus due to three perceptual processes—notably selective
attention, selective distortion, and selective retention. The first of the three—selective attention is the tendency
of people to screen out most of the information to which they are exposed. This means that marketers would
need to strive or work hard in order to attract the attention of consumers. Selective or perception distortion
simply means the lack of correspondence between the way a stimulus is commonly perceived and the way an
individual perceives under the given conditions or circumstances. In other words, it describes the tendency of
people to interpret information in a way that will support what they already believe. For example, if a consumer
distrusts a particular bank, he might perceive the even honest offers of credit cards, savings rates or even
insurance deals as questionable. What this, then, means for marketers is that they must try very hard to
understand the mindsets of consumers and how these will affect their interpretations of any sales information or
advertisements by the firm. As a result of selective retention, therefore, consumers are likely to remember good
points made about competing brands. Interestingly, although most marketers worry about whether their
products, services or ideas will be perceived at all, some consumers worry that they will be affected by
marketing messages without even realizing it—through subliminal advertising.
Halo Effect
The Halo Effect was first identified in 1920 by American psychologist, Edward Thorndike. The concept
describes how an overall impression shapes specific judgment. In business, a company’s overall performance,
which is usually defined by tangible financial results, shapes our evaluation of other less tangible things. As
highlighted by Rosenweig3 the example of Cisco Systems, which was admired for its customer focus, efficient
organization and charismatic CEO, but when performance slipped, it was criticized for the exact same thing.
Indeed, it seems rather obvious that in the business world, companies that have been successful in terms of
financial performance have tended to arouse our general positive perception towards every other aspect of the
company such as innovation, social responsibility and product quality as was conferred upon the coffee giant—
Starbucks (exaggerating our perception of the company as the most admired). Other examples have included
Apple and Wal-Mart.
FACTORS INFLUENCING PERCEPTION
There are numerous factors influencing perception—both internal and external. From the internal perspective,
we have a series of personal factors such as experience (which is the result of acquiring and processing
stimulation over time) as one factor that determines how much exposure to a particular stimulus a person
accepts. Three other factors are linked to our perceptual filters, perception vigilance and perceptual defense
discussed below. Perceptual filters, based on our past experiences, influence whatever stimuli we decide to
process. Perceptual vigilance relates to the chosen stimuli that make it through our perceptual filters.
Consumers are more likely to be aware of stimuli that relate to their current needs—for example watching the
Cricket World Cup might not be of interest to some fans until their country qualifies for the semi-finals.
Perceptual vigilance is a form of perceptual defense. In other words, consumers see only what they want to see
—and effectively blocking out what they do not want to see (this is discussed later). This is often the case when
a stimulus seems to threaten us in some way, and we consequently either completely refuse to process it, or
decide to ‘distort’ its meaning so that it becomes more acceptable to us. For example, a heavy smoker may
block out images of cancer-scarred lungs because these images may be too dramatic to take in.
Adaptation
Adaptation simplyrefers to the degree to which consumers continue to notice a stimulus over time. The process
of adaptation occurs when consumers no longer pay attention to a stimulus because it is so familiar. A consumer
can “habituate” and require increasingly stronger “doses” of a stimulus in order to notice it. A commuter on his
way to work might read a billboard message when it is first installed, but after a few days, it simply becomes
part of everyday living. Several factors lead to adaptation.
Duration—Stimuli that require relatively lengthy exposure in order to be processed habituate (i.e.
decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations) because they require a long attention
span
Relevance—Stimuli that are irrelevant or unimportant tend to habituate because they fail to attract
attention
Intensity—Less-intense stimuli (e.g., soft sounds or dim colours) habituate because they have less
sensory impact
Exposure—Frequentlyencounteredstimulihabituateastherateofexposure increases
Novelty—Stimuli that appear in unexpected ways or places tend to grab our attention. One solution is to
put ads in unconventional places, wherethere will be less competition for attention, e.g. on tunnel,walls,
floors of sports stadiums, and even public toilets (Solomon6; McCarthy7).
Position—We stand a better chance of noticing stimuli that are in places we are more likely to look
(sounds like the opposite of novelty if you think about it properly). That is why the competition is so
heated among suppliers to have their products displayed in stores at eye level.
Size—The size of the stimulus itself in contrast to the competition helps to determine if it will command
attention. Readership of a magazine ad increases in proportion to the size of the advertisement.
Colour—It is a powerful way to draw attention to a product or to give it a distinct identity. For example,
what do DHL, Kodak and McDonalds have in common? The answer is Red and Yellow—which are
perceived with speedy service (in their respective sectors of logistics, photography and fast-food).
MAKING SENSE OF YOUR SENSES
The stimuli we perceive are often ambiguous—perhaps due to our interpretational biases. It is up to us to
determine the meaning based on our past experiences, expectations, and needs. A classic experiment
demonstrated the process of “seeing what you want to see.” For example, Algerian and Egyptian students
separately viewed a clip of a particularly rough football game between these two rival Arabic-speaking North
African sides in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.19 Although everyone was exposed to the same
stimulus, the degree to which students from these countries assigned blame for poor officiating, rough tackles,
and red cards, was quite different depending on what nation’s team they supported. As this experiment
demonstrates, consumers tend to project their own desires or assumptions onto products and advertisements.
Some researchers have begun sharing their findings on the important role the haptic (touch) sense plays in
consumer behaviour. Haptic senses appear to moderate the relationship between product experience and
judgment confidence,
can touch it (a major problem for online marketers). Talking about subliminal perception, some fragrance and
cosmetics containers in particular tend to speak to consumers via their tactile appeal. Most modern perfume
bottles still are made of glass because when women handle an elegantly sculpted glass container, they
experience a sense of luxury that more modern materials cannot provide. For example, we can link theperceived
richness or quality of the material in clothing, bedding, or upholstery to its “feel,” whether rough or smooth,
flexible or inflexible. We equate a smooth fabric, such as silk, with luxury, whereas we consider denim to be
considered practical and durable. Fabrics composed of scarce materials or that require a high degree of
processing to achieve their smoothness or fineness tend to be more expensive and thus we assume they are of a
higher class. Similarly, we assume lighter, more delicate textures are feminine.