Oxbridge? Doctor? Barrister? MBA? Chairman/woman? The chances are that you have formed some image of this person in your head before you read this far. This is known as the ‘halo effect’, where we associate positive traits with a person or object. We give more weight to their opinions and tend to offer them more respect, without knowing them. Car companies leverage this effect by advertising a ‘unicorn’, range-topping model that very few will buy. This ‘halo product’ creates a perception that the entire range is as advanced, high quality and desirable as that vehicle. In reality, the modest crossover SUV has little relation to the halo model but you bought it anyway. Did we fully understand the decision? So, today we discuss how business perception does not always equal the reality.
Perception matters a lot in sales and marketing
Clearly, you don’t usually inform would-be buyers about the drawbacks of a product or service before someone buys it. Similarly, you don’t’ tell people what it really costs to make or the huge profit margins that you are making behind the scenes. Value is defined as the price that you are willing to pay for the benefits that you perceive that you will get. How much you are willing to pay depends on many things, including the perceived provenance of the brand, the utility of the product or service and the quality or support that you will receive. In business, it means that similarity, aspiration, peer recommendation or familiarity can increase your willingness to pay.
Crucially, given the white-hot cauldron of competition, no single brand can offer it all. Squaring the circle of price, quality, features and service/support is impossible. You cannot be the cheapest with the most features while also offering the best build quality and superb aftersales support. There is also the perception of how people, in particular your peers, respond to your choice. The old adage of “nobody got fired for buying IBM” rings as true now as it did then, even if you do replace IBM with another well-known brand. We often meet people with experience of dealing with huge consulting outfits, which requires a different positioning of value and reframing of expectations.
Our perception is fluid
Most people consider perception as ‘fixed’. For example, if we expose you to gestalt images, often referred to as ambiguous images, you will often see it your way first until someone points out another way second. The young lady looking away and wearing a rather glamorous, feathered hat is also a sad, elderly lady looking down. We can easily accept that there are two perspectives and that we perceived it differently to someone else once we know. However, what if we told you that perception is far more fluid than that? For example, the famous sphere image by Yurii Perepadia of Ukraine often appears to ‘move’ even though it is just an image. Now, neuroscientists have demonstrated that in a heightened state of alertness or anxiety, it appears to move more quickly i.e. perception is fluid.
If we accept for a moment that perception changes with emotion and not just experiences, it means that our perspective fluctuates. In such a state, it is no wonder that people reach for the ‘safe’ option of established brands, long-standing products and easily accessible, widespread service offerings. After all, perception of IBM is partly informed by the above phrase, even though you don’t buy mainframes or personal computers from them today. Is this reality or purely our business perception? This may also represent confirmation bias or conformity bias.
Business perception of people
Statistically, we tend to prefer people who are like us (similarity bias), which can cause issues. We have heard CEOs comment on recent hires with, “I see this person as my future successor”. After 30 days, especially at a senior level, you are unlikely to have had the time to deliver a project or achieve an objective. In fact, you are on the meet and greet tour and already destined for the top job. Impressive, yes?
However, recent scientific studies have proven that when groups of volunteers watched videos of those lying or telling the truth, the chance of them spotting the difference was about equal to a coin toss. This suggests that we overestimate our ability to spot a liar when the odds are pretty much 50:50.
This has consequences for recruitment. A great liar isn’t as much of a problem as our inability to spot the lies. Furthermore, most decisions are made by our non-conscious mind and we are consciously unaware of it. In short, our emotional state is impacting our decisions. Add in the fluidity of perception and 50:50 odds of spotting lies and some hiring and promotion decisions could be questionable. We recommend taking time and objectively assessing suitability, based on successful outcomes and behaviours.
The same could be said of choosing the right consultancy. Testing a hypothesis with £250k and a large, faceless consultancy is very different to £25k and an accessible one. The big brand lends familiarity and perceived success (they are big after all) but did we receive the personalised support? Do we understand what we need to do? Where do we go from here?
See the output and check the reality
As a small, boutique consultancy, we tailor our work to your needs. We don’t ‘sell’ our preferred models into you that your business doesn’t really need or know how to fully leverage. We work with people and teams to solve problems and improve growth prospects. Sure, we don’t have our logo on the side of a skyscraper but we do sit in front of you and focus on your specific needs. Our 3 tenets are trust, integrity and honesty. That’s our business perception.
If you would like to check out what others think about us, check some of our feedback. You can also read a bit more about our approach and how we work.
Alternatively, check the most frequently asked questions or why not reach out to us online and we will get back to you, personally.
Finally, there is our tongue-in-cheek perspective on why size might not matter.