Effective marketing communication is based on a clearly defined corporate image. The image summarizes what your organization stands for and how well your organization’s position has been established. The goal of image management is to create and influence an impression in the minds of clients and customers.
Your customers see many things as they come in contact with your business. One primary component of your corporate image is customer perceptions of the goods and services you offer. The quality of an organization’s good and services ranks as the most important component of a corporate image. A close second is the willingness of an organization to stand behind its goods and services. Third is customer experience.
From a customer’s perspective, the corporate image serves several functions:
- Provides assurance regarding purchase decisions of familiar products in unfamiliar settings
- Gives assurance about the purchase when the buyer has little or no previous experience with the good or service
- Reduces search time in purchase decisions
- Provides psychological reinforcement and social acceptance of purchases
A strong corporate image creates a major competitive advantage in the business to business marketplace. A quality corporate image provides the basis for the development of new goods and services. When customers are all ready familiar with the corporate name and image, the introduction of new products and services becomes much easier because long term customers are much more willing to give something new a try.
A strong corporate image allows your business to charge more for its goods and services. Many believe they “get what they pay for.” Higher quality is often associated with a higher price. Firms with well-established images have customers who are more loyal. A higher customer loyalty level results in more product purchases over time.
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