6 signs your brand perception is out of sync with your business reality (+ what to do about it)

As a business owner, it’s easy to assume people ‘get’ your brand: that they understand what you offer, what you stand for & why they should care. Easy - but potentially misguided. Find out what happens when there's a gap between brand perception and business reality, how to spot it & what to do about it...

Business contexts are always changing… times change, markets move, people move on. 

Whether it’s responding to increased competition, a maturing customer base or tighter cost pressures – businesses either evolve & adapt their offer or they start to struggle.

But managing change cohesively can be tricky - & one of the most common challenges that businesses face is when the business has moved on but the brand hasn’t caught up. This blog looks at that challenge from a customer perspective.

Your brand isn’t just your logo or a catchy slogan. It’s the sum total of what people know, think & feel about your business.  Not just any people, of course - but the ones that matter to your business, such as prospective/existing customers or team members, strategic partners, preferred suppliers, potential investors or local media etc.

All of these people will form perceptions of your business based on the nature & depth of the experience they have with it. Some perceptions are formed instantly – as soon as someone hears your brand name, sees a social media post, meets a representative at an industry event or first visits your website. Others are formed over time – as they research your business, talk to others, or experience your products/services etc. Either way, those perceptions directly influence whether a person want to work with you, or for you, to buy your products & services (even at higher prices), to support you, promote you, offer you preferential rates or refer you to others.

In a world of tech-driven data, perception still matters. Don’t ever underestimate it.

If the outside world, particularly prospective or existing customers, has a view of your business that doesn’t match its reality – you have a problem. When there’s a gap between what you think you offer vs what prospects or customers actually see or hear, confusion creeps in - & confusion causes all manner of trouble.

If you don’t spot the problem & fix it in time, then you risk missed opportunities, slower growth & wasted marketing spend.

Here are 6 super practical signs – from a customer perspective - that your business & brand are out of sync…

1. You're attracting the wrong customers

   • You often get enquiries from people who aren’t a good fit for your services.

   • Your leads repeatedly ask for things you don’t offer or misunderstand what you do.

   • You waste time explaining the basics or turning away unsuitable requests.

     
     

2. Your customers don’t use your “best” services

   • The services you’re most proud of (or find most profitable) aren’t the ones people talk about or buy.

   • Clients express surprise when you mention what’s included or available—they had no idea.

     
     

3. Customer feedback conveys confusion

   • Surveys, reviews, or casual comments show people “don’t get” your core offer or values.

   • Feedback includes phrases like “Oh, I didn’t know you did that…” or “I thought you were more for [x]”.

     
     

4. Your online messaging is outdated or inconsistent

   • Your website, social media, and advertising use styling, language, imagery or content that no longer reflect the business offer

   • Different channels describe you indifferent ways—making you look unfocused or inconsistent.

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5. Marketing, Sales & referrals mis-match

   • You rely heavily on personal networking to close sales, but your marketing brings in little.

   • Happy customers recommend you for different reasons than you’d hope—or refer the wrong kinds of jobs.

     
     

6. Your competitors’ customers choose them for reasons you thought were your strengths

   • You keep losing work to competitors, even when you do the same (or better).

   • Competitors seem to ‘own’ a market position you believe you should lead.

If you’re seeing any of these signs in your business, it’s time to work out what’s going wrong..

Ask Directly

• Survey your customers and contacts

• Use open questions (i.e. where you don't provide alternative answers to choose from) to uncover genuine perceptions about top of mind associations, along with specifics on what you do, how you do it, what value you bring etc.

• Remember that polite approval doesn’t constitute constructive feedback!

If you have the budget, ask Rock to help with any third party research - whether its with customers, partners, investors etc. You’ll get better results & this is why:

• Know-how:  There are lots of different ways of conducting research – primary vs secondary, face to face vs online, individually, in groups, independently vs accompanied etc. We regularly complete depth interviews with our clients’ customers &, for more complex challenges, have specialist research partners who can advise on the best methodology to suit the circumstances, timeframe & budget.

• Quality of insights:

  An independent researcher will identify & interrogate data from a different perspective from a business owner. If surveying customers, they can also offer respondents anonymity which helps to avoid bias & encourage more open, direct & genuinely useful feedback.

• Customer Satisfaction: It’s nice to feel valued &, depending upon the nature of the research& the way in which respondents have been approached, consulting customers can make them feel more appreciated - which feels good. And happy customers are better customers.

• Image: Commissioning an independent consultant is a strong, public demonstration of your business’ commitment to a professional approach. It can help make your business look good.

Search It

• Read your reviews (e.g. Trustpilot, customer feedback forms, social media reviews or Google Business Profile etc), news mentions, and comments on social posts.

• Are there any current words or themes?

• Is your intended message coming through, or getting missed?

  
  

Mystery Shop

• Call your own main number or fill out your web form as a customer would. Is the first impression clear?

• Ask someone you trust (ideally, who fits your target customer profile but isn’t actually a customer) to describe your business after a quick web search.

  
  

Analyse Analytics

• What website pages get the most visits? Are these about your core services, or random/old offerings?

• Which social posts get the most engagement? Are those the stories you want to be known for?

With the exception of asking customers directly, all of the above actions can easily be done in-house.

Once you’ve completed the above, look at what you’ve learned – is the problem strategy or implementation? Or both? You need to understand the nature of the brand gap before you can work out how to close it…

• Strategy: Your business & brand strategy will have a direct influence on the offer you go to market with, including look, feel & messaging.  If your strategy isn't clear, then you don't have a hope of implementing it effectively. So, for of all, make sure you have clarity on your foundations – Direction, Connection, Impact & Value. Foundations Strategy is Rock’s bread & butter – it’s what we do on a daily basis. For help with defining solid foundations for your business, ask us now.

• Implementation: Once you have a clear foundations strategy in place, map out every customer touchpoint & make sure it’s aligned.

  • Make sure your products & services all serve your business direction & match specific customer profiles - in offer, structure, pricing etc.

  • Update your website, social media profiles & any marketing assets with appropriate on-brand content using real language that your ideal customers use - at the same time, make sure you remove any old taglines, imagery or content that doesn't fit your new foundations.

  • Train your team, regardless of which department they work in, to speak consistently about your main offer and strengths. (Success is everyone's business - it's not just down to the Marketing department!). Show them what on-brand looks like & make sure everyone has the skills & tools they need to present the brand effectively.

  Make a plan to check in on brand perception at least annually—markets change, and so do you.

A strong brand is a real advantage—but it's only strong if it actually reflects your business reality. Keep an eye on how the world sees you, and don’t be afraid to course-correct. Your business will be clearer, your marketing will be more effective, more of the right customers will 'get' you, and growth will follow.

Need a hand with anything mentioned in this blog? Book a GRIT Session to talk it through…

If you’ve already identified a problem & want Rock to scope out a support programme to help you fix it – we’re here for that too.  Rock is led by client needs, not pre-conceived consultancy agendas - so we can be as hands-on or -off as you need us to be, whether that's running our own Rock-managed programme, or training & mentoring your in-house team through their own delivery. If you're not sure what you need, just ask Rock. info@rock.partners

About us:

ROCK.PARTNERS

Led by experienced Business & Brand Consultant, Rachel Vigers, Rock.Partners offers SMEs robust, pragmatic strategic solutions so they can better start strong, stay strong, grow strong or exit strong.

That includes:

• Foundations Strategy: getting clarity on Direction, Connection, Impact & Value

• FAST Foundations strategy sprints & workshops

• FIRM Foundations strategy programmes, including research & consultation

• Alignment Programmes: mentoring, training & programme delivery support across commercial, creative & cultural workflows, partner outsourcing & management