Consumers tend to organize marketing information into images of brands, products, stores and companies. An image is a total perception of the object that is formed by processing information from various sources overtime. According to the gestalt that psychologist, forming an image is a natural process of developing a total perception of the object. And important objectiv of marketing strategy is to influence the perception of a brand, price, level, stores or company. Marketers are therefor constantly trying to influence consumers image.
BRAND IMAGE
Brand image represents the overall perception of the brand and formed from information about the brand,and Consumers past experience. The image of a brand is related to attitude (belief about and preference for the brand). Consumers with positive images of the brand are more likely to purchase it. Therefore, a major purpose of advertising strategy is to develop a positive brand image.
PRODUCT POSITIONING
The key ingredients to influencing a consumer's brand image is product positioning. Marketers try to position their to meet the needs of defined consumers segments. They do so by developing a product concept that can communicate the desired benefits through advertising and by utilizing media that will reach the target segments.
Considering the huge some of money used in developing and introducing new products, research new product positioning is extremely important. To bring about effective product positioning, careful screening of alternative concepts must be undertaken to determine the brand image they convey to consumers.
PRICE IMAGE
Perceptions of price will directly affect brand image. Many Studies have shown that consumers associated higher price with quality. This is especially true where there are no basis or criteria for judging products performance. If there is pre knowledge of product specifications, purchaser a stereo sat or a rug may assume that higher price means better quality. In some cases,brands could have been introduced at lower prices and would have met the investment criteria of marketers, but a fear of a low quality perception caused them to be introduced at a higher price.
On study found a strong relationship between price and quality of certain products and not for others. Seven product categories were tested. Consumers were given a chance of three brands for each product category. The brands were similar in all dimensions except in price. It was discovered that respondents tend to lick the higher priced brand for stereo and tennis trackers but not for tooth paste ,suntan lotion or coffee. Stereos and tennis rackets were the two products perceived as having the highest quality variation between brands. In absence of the product information ,higher price connotes higher quality only if the consumer feels there is sufficient quality difference between brands. In above study,coffee and toothpaste were seen as two standardized for a price/quality image to apply.
STORE IMAGE; The total perception which the consumer has about a store,is known as the store image. Consumers develop store image based on advertising ,merchandise in the store,opinions of friends and relatives and shopping experiences. Store image will directly influence brand image. In a research carried out ,four identical samples of carpet were given to consumers to evaluate,(Enis and statfford 1969). Each sample was labeled with a higher or lower price,and a more or less prestigious store. The product samples with higher price and from the more prestigious store were rated significantly high on quality than sample with a low price from a prestigious store,or samples with a high price from less prestigious store. In other words ,the combination of a positive store and priced image produced a positive brand image ,even though the product was the same.
CORPORATE IMAGE; Consumers also organize the variety of information about companies and their experience with a company's product into corporate images. A corporate image is the total picture or perception which the consumer has about a company or an organisation. Companies spend huge sums of money to improve their image with the public for several reasons. In the first place,a positive corporate image will reinforce positive perceptions of the company's products. Such a link between corporate and brand image is particularly important when the brand name is closely associated with the company. Companies can also seek to maintain a favourable image regarding public issues that may directly affect the consumer.
PERCEIVED QUALITY
How do consumer assess or determine the quality of a product? Consumers often judge the quality of a product by using variety of information cues,which they associate with product. Some of these cues are intrinsic to (ie. Inherent in) the product. Such as specific product characteristics; while others are extrinsic(I.e.external to) the product,such as price ,stores image and image ,promotional message. Either singly or in combination ,such cues provides the basis for perceptions concerning product quality.
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