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Image: Perception or Branding For years business has been told get a brand name it will make selling your products easier. Customers will recognize your brand name and buy because of it. They will associate all the good things you try to be with your product and buy. The brand is the image, and the corporate world bought it, and why not, it was a selling point. It was good business for the business and the agencies. Perception is a powerful tool; it cuts through all the hype and clutter that permeates the off-line world. Why think, why compare, it is all done for you, no need to make a decision of choice, their prices are cheaper, this star uses it, it is the in thing, the brand name does it all. The down side is that if the product is poor or doesn't perform a different perception is obtained and the brand takes on a different image. But in general businesses do try to match the public's expectations with the product; to do otherwise is commercial disaster. But at what stage does the "we are the brand" override everything else. People will buy because that is what they want but the business perception is they are buying the brand. In the off-line world the businesses view may be correct, but in the online world no. To continue with the view that the brand is everything when selling on the Internet is courting disaster. It is a perception that will invariably change peoples buying habits and that will be a disaster for those agencies that promote the brand name above good business practice. The world is on-line, it is on the Internet. Customers search for what they require, want or need. They are not interested in the brand name, they want information, they want a product. Can they find it and if they can, does the perception they obtain from the business when online re-enforce the view that it is a good business, or does the business undo all their previous promotional efforts by providing a website that in reality says we don't care about the customer we have a brand name. Business is about customers, the reason they buy is the perception about the product or business. The world is on-line and traditional businesses are following but to succeed they will have to rethink how they communicate with the customer. They will have to understand that the media with which they deal is unlike anything they have dealt with before. They will have to change their perception. Wanganui site map