Perception Theory

2.5. Perception creation in consumers by companies

Bem (1972) explains through his “Self Perception Theory” that individuals develop “attitudes, emotions and other internal states” based on their inherent behaviour. He also explains that the circumstances in which these behaviours occur are also influenced by the internal states of an individual and several other influencing factors. Kotler (2012) mentions that a person despite being motivated is governed by his/her perception of situation to make a decision. He further defines perception as “a process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world”. These studies provide the link between perceptions of individuals and

In a study conducted by Allison and Uhl (1964) on 326 drinkers, it was found that the participants rated beers from certain brands higher than that of others not based on the taste but purely based on the labels of the brands. The study confirmed statistically that the perceptions created by the marketing efforts of the companies had a higher influence on consumers’ brand choices than the product attributes themselves. Creating a positive perception leads to trust and loyalty which is rated high by many companies. For example, car companies usually never conduct satisfaction surveys, rather they track repurchase data of the customer and use it as the measure of their long term success (Reichheld et al. 2000).

Harley Davidson as a company is known to develop many marketing promotion events to create the perception in the minds of consumers that their designs and values are usually laid in the 1950s in an anachronistic way. Many customers believe that this representation of the automobile translates to ‘masculinity’ and therefore have their perception of the motor bikes from Harley Davidson as classy old fashioned and masculine whether they really are or not (Holt,

1986; Piron, (2000). The functional needs are lined with a particular pragmatic consumption issues and symbolic needs are connected to social identification and self-image (Verlegh & Steenkamp, 2005). Functional brands fulfil practical and immediate needs, whereas symbolic brands create a self-expression, prestige. Customers may buy a product made in a particular country either to elevate their social status in their community or to show off their standard of living or for some other reasons relating to their personalities. It is noted in many countries few customers have a strong preference towards imported products or brands as they perceive it to be superior to the domestic brands. In the contemporary consumer communities, consumers buy a brand not only for their need but also to symbolize their identity (Belk 1988). Some consumers usually are engaged in strengthening their identities, and the main reason for their purchase is the symbolic quality of a product (Solomon, 1983). The products are used as a language symbol in social groups (Lannon and Cooper, 1983). Thus brands can serve as a channel that speaks a consumer’s status, aspiration and identity. The symbolic use of brands is possibly because consumers inspire brands with human character traits. Consumer ethnocentrism derives from the more general construct of ethnocentrism; it is defined as people viewing their self- in-group as