Perception is everything in marketing.
People buy based on perception, perception of value, perception of integrity, perception of quality. The entire US economy practically runs on the stuff but what is perception? It is defined as, our interpretation of what we take in through our senses.
As part of my career as a marketer I have put what I tell my clients to do to the test and developed, manufactured and sold my own products. These were high end bedding products with a cute marketing story. The items required a bit of explanation however they were sold to catalogs, through brick and mortar and via e-commerce.
Since DCG produces marketing materials from concept and design to photography and production, we control the entire process. This allows us to produce very high quality marketing materials for ourselves and our clients very cost effectively. DCG specializes in producing very high quality marketing materials for our clients at a fraction of the price of other marketing companies that give the buyer the perception of integrity, quality and value of products that may still even be in the prototype stage. This often means photographing a product and then retouching it to look like what the final product should look like.
Case in point
DCG created a brochure for the high quality bedding product we manufactured. We developed a 5.5″ x 8.5″, 8 page brochure which is essentially to 8.5″ x 11″ sheets cut in half and stapled together. A room shot was set-up and we captured beautiful and interesting digital images of the bedding products, designed a very clean brochure, wrote the content and had it printed. We then took the brochure and sent it out to many potential sales channels. We received interest from one of the most upscale catalog companies in the US. They requested that we visit their office to discuss including our bedding products in their catalog for a 6 month stint in the catalog, starting with a full page display. Our pricing structure was competitive but not inexpensive however, the printed material was beautiful. During our meeting with the catalog company, I asked the client what was his deciding factor to ask us to be part of this very prestigious catalog. The buyer pulled out our printed material, pointed at the pictures and the design of the pages and said the product looked soft and luxurious and the company appeared to be the high quality company that they always look for.
The customer perceived all the positive attributes of the product and the company from a piece of printed material. The bedding product could have been stuffed with broken glass and razor blades but the case in point is that the client perceived quality, value and integrity of a bedding product from nothing more than the printed marketing material. It was the clients perception that led him to draw a number of conclusions based on perception and not fact.. In fact, while the bedding product did exist, the client had never touched the product . He had a pre-conceived notion of quality.
DCG has developed many such campaigns for clients with similar results. Products that do not exist and companies that are working out of their garages are presented in the best possible light. This is the least expensive, most effective way to launch a new product and / or test the viability of a product concept.
I am positive many fantastic products died on the vine because they were not presented with integrity. Clients are assured to hear me make one statement over and over again, “never put out any marketing material that is not as good as or better than the product or service your offer as these materials only serve to diminish your brand and the clients perception”. By presenting anything to the client that serves to diminish their perception of the product or the company you set yourself up for an up-hill battle where you must first overcome negative perception before the sales process can even begin.
Effective marketing is not necessarily expensive but it does take planning and great attention to detail. Begin with the end in mind and reverse engineer where to begin your marketing campaign.
About the author
Jeff Adise is the president of Digital Colour Group llc, a multi-disciplined marketing, website and business development company. He is the trusted marketing professional to scores of Mid-sized, Small business and Entrepreneurial start-ups since 1990.
