Editing Perception management (section)

==Business==
Businesses shape the perceptions of the public in order to get the desired behavior and [[purchase pattern]]s from [[consumer]]s.

=== Advertising ===
In terms of [[advertising]] and [[brand image]], without a perception to manage, no other form of communication can happen. That highlights the importance of the brand image. However, some research{{which|date=October 2013}} indicates that just being a known brand dramatically affects how consumers perceive it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aslam|first1=Wajeeha|last2=Ham|first2=Marija|last3=Farhat|first3=Kashif|date=2018-12-17|title=Influencing factors of brand perception on consumers' repurchase intention: An examination of online apparel shopping|journal=Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues|volume=23|issue=2|pages=87–102|doi=10.30924/mjcmi/2018.23.2.87|issn=1331-0194|doi-access=free}}</ref> A consumer may rationalize that if they have heard of a brand, the company must be spending a fair sum on advertising. If it is spending a lot on advertising, then the company must be reasonably profitable which means that other consumers must be buying the product and they must be satisfied enough with its performance; therefore, the product must be of reasonable quality. Sometimes managing perception can simply just mean giving consumers a perception. Advertising, without even considering its message and quality, adds to consumer opinions in a positive light.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Emma Macdonald|author2=Byron Sharp|title=Management Perceptions of the Importance of Brand Awareness as an Indication of Advertising Effectiveness|year=2003|journal=Marketing Bulletin|volume=14|pages=141–11|url=http://faculty.mu.edu.sa/public/uploads/1358443361.1051brand70.pdf}}</ref>

=== Brand management ===
Companies{{which|date=October 2013}} often use [[brand management]] in an attempt to change a potential customer's perception of the product's value. Through positive association, a brand manager can strengthen the company's [[marketing]] and gain brand value. This is an important step in perception management because it aims at producing the most effective results. Brand management deals with competitors, promotions, costs, and satisfaction in order to earn trust from consumers and show positive feedback.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=UNURLU|first=Çiğdem|date=2019-12-31|title=The Mediating Role of Brand Performance on the Relationship between Confusion - Brand Loyalty and Uncertainty Avoidance - Brand Loyalty|journal=Dokuz Eylul Universitesi Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Dergisi|volume=34|issue=4|pages=491–510|doi=10.24988/ije.2019344879|issn=1302-504X|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Leadership ===
People can use perception management as a way to positively enhance their [[leadership]] abilities. A person's ability to manage perceptions is what sets great leaders apart. What people – followers – appraise as effectiveness and ability as a leader becomes their perception, which then becomes reality. Unmanaged perceptions of a person's followers create a reality opposite to what was wanted.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Russell, Jeffery S.|title=Are You Managing Perception?|journal=Leadership and Management in Engineering|date=April 2001|volume=1|issue=2|page=2|type=Editor's Letter|doi=10.1061/(ASCE)1532-6748(2001)1:2(2)|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Marketing ===
The best medium for businesses to affect the perceptions of the public is through marketing. To get people to buy products, marketers must identify a ''need'' and manage the perception of the public so that they feel the product will fulfill that need.

This is not the same thing as manipulation, where businesses create something people don't need, and marketers convince them that they do need it. Good perception management is to the benefit of the [[consumer]], as it fulfills more of the customer's needs, and to the benefit of the business, as it increases their revenue.<ref>{{cite web|author=Smith, B.|year=1994|title=Perception Management|publisher=The Empire Club of Canada Speeches 1994-1995|url=http://www.empireclubfoundation.com/details.asp?FT=yes&SpeechID=1270|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130172724/http://www.empireclubfoundation.com/details.asp?FT=yes&SpeechID=1270|archive-date=2016-01-30}}</ref>

In some{{which|date=October 2013}} marketing schemas, marketers create a need that was not present and then offer to fulfill that need. A good example of this is credit card companies. [[Credit card]] companies are companies that, like most other companies, started off by providing a convenience to the population.

Credit cards offer an alternative method of payment to cash or check and make life simpler for many people; however, today there are over 600 million credit cards issued in the United States alone and four major credit card companies.<ref name="creditcards.com">{{cite web |author=CreditCards.com |url=http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php#most-popular-searches |title=Credit card statistics, industry facts, debt statistics |publisher=Creditcards.com |access-date=2012-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207180147/http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php#most-popular-searches |archive-date=2010-02-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is no longer even possible to buy a car, get a home loan, or rent an apartment from many companies without a positive [[credit score]].

This fact has necessitated the need for almost every citizen to have a credit card. However, many credit cards companies manage their perception to make sure that people continue to need credit cards, and control their perception so that many people do not fully understand what they are getting into. However, the fact that the average household in the United States is in over fifteen thousand dollars worth of debt never reaches the widespread public.<ref name="creditcards.com"/> Instead, they publicize how they will help if a card gets stolen, or that they have the lowest interest percentage compared to the other major competitors. But no company tells their customers that the promoted [[interest rate]] more than doubles if they do not pay the minimum balance on time. For instance, [[Discover Card|Discover's]] interest rate increases to 18.99% after the first minimum balance is not paid on time.<ref>[https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/acqs/app/exec?dynaviewMain=INFO&brand=MORE&sc=KBL9&icmpgn=1007_cc_grdt_cbcterm_btn_001 Discover Card Contract]</ref>

In short, though credit cards are convenient and fulfill a need, the companies often make no mention of the negative effects that they might have on many of their users.

=== Risk management ===
{{see|Risk management}}
The decision-making process in relation to the future is an element of business that has a great effect on the company's future. If the company is too [[Risk aversion|risk-averse]], this leads to underperformance and a missed opportunity. If the company takes too many risks, it is likely that there will be a large amount of losses. Ultimately if this amount of [[risk-taking]] leads the perception of the company to exceed the boundaries of logic and fact, the company will most likely fail based on their poor perception.<ref>Vance, Beaumont. "Perception and meltdowns.(RISK MANAGEMENT)." Risk & Insurance 18.12 (Oct 1, 2007): 20(1).</ref> Companies today cannot afford not to manage perceptions. Though not a substitute for a substantial product, it is useful in "sustaining the offering" for a length of time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.domain-b.com/management/general/20040720_perception.html |title=The art of perception management |publisher=domain-b.com |date=2004-07-20 |access-date=2012-02-23}}</ref>

=== International communication ===
The [[communication gaps]] that exist in international business can lead to misunderstandings. Perception management helps to prevent the complex emotional characteristics of communication from changing the original interpretation of the message. Perception management also serves to change the original interpretation of the message in order to prevent [[complex emotional characteristic]]s in communication.<ref>Tang, Tony, "Viewpoint: Perception Management Crucial for International Business", Wisconsin School of Business, September 2006.</ref>