Consumer perception is how individuals select, organize, and interpret stimuli to form a meaningful understanding of the world. It involves sensation, where sensory receptors receive stimuli, and thresholds, such as the absolute threshold where something is barely detected and the just noticeable difference between two similar stimuli. Subliminal perception involves stimuli too weak to be consciously perceived but strong enough to be detected by receptors. Consumers develop images of products and brands based on symbolic meanings and evaluate brands on consistency with their self-images. Marketers position products through overall company images, competition, benefits, and multiple offerings under different brands to fill various positions. Repositioning may occur due to new competitors or saturated attributes, and perceptual mapping identifies product positions and gaps in

1. CONSUMER
PERCEPTION
Edited By
Mr. Amit Garg

2. CONSUMER PERCEPTION
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It is the process by which an individual
selects, organizes and interprets stimuli
into a meaningful & coherent picture of
the world. It is like- how we see the world
around us.

3. ELEMENTS OF PERCEPTION
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SENSATION: it is the immediate & direct
response of the sensory organs to stimuli.
Stimulus in itself is any unit of input to any of
the senses.
Sensory receptors are the human organs (eyes,
ears etc) that receive sensory inputs.
Human sensitivity is experience of sensation.

4. 
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ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD: the lowest level at
which an individual can experience sensation. The
point at which an individual can distinguish
between something & nothing is that person’s
absolute threshold.
Sensory adaptation: consumers get so used to
the current ads that they no longer see them.
That’s why advertisers keep on changing their
ads regularly.

5. 
DIFFERENTIAL THRESHOLD OR JUST
NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE (J.N.D):
The minimal difference that can be
detected between two similar stimuli is
called differential threshold.

6. 
SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION: stimuli that are too
weak or too brief to be consciously seen or heard
may prove to be strong enough to be perceived
by one or more receptor cells. This process is
called subliminal perception. In this case the
stimulus is beneath the threshold of conscious
awareness but is above the absolute threshold of
the receptors.

7. CONSUMER IMAGERY
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Consumers have a number of enduring
perceptions or images about different products
and brands.
Products & brands have symbolic value for
individuals who evaluate them on the basis of
their consistency with the personal pictures of
themselves.
These images carry a lot of importance for the
marketers who try to study consumer buying
behaviour.

8. PRODUCT POSITIONING
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The image that a product has in the mind of
consumer.
UMBRELLA POSITIONING: creating an overall
image of the company around which a lot of
products can be featured individually.
POSITIONING AGAINST THE COMPETITION: cash
prize of one crore in case of water purifier.
POSITIONING BASED ON A SPECIFIC BENEFIT: 2
minutes noodles.

9. 
FILLING SEVERAL POSITIONS: marketers create
several distinct offerings often in the form of
different brands. Eg: different brands of soaps of
the same company.(lux, hamam etc)

10. PRODUCT REPOSITIONING
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Repositioning may be done due to varied reasons
like- competitors cutting into your market share,
too many competitors stressing the same
attributes etc.
PERCEPTUAL MAPPING: helps the marketers to
determine how their products or services appear
to consumers in relation to competitive brands on
one or more relevant characteristics.
It enables them to see gaps in the positioning of
all brands in the product or service class & to
identify areas in which consumer needs are not
adequately met.

11. POSITIONING OF SERVICES

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It is difficult to position services because of their
intangible nature.
In this case image becomes a key factor in
differentiating a service from its competitors.

12. PERCEIVED PRICE

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It affects purchase intention as well as purchase
satisfaction.
REFERENCE PRICES: It is any price that a
consumer uses as a basis for comparison in
judging another price.

13. PERCEIVED QUALITY
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Consumers often judge the quality of a product or
service on the basis of a variety of informational
cues that the associate with the product.
These cues may be intrinsic, extrinsic or both.

14. PERCEIVED RISK
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FUNCTIONAL RISK: the risk that the product will
not perform as expected
PHYSICAL RISK: risk to self or others that the
product may pose
FINANCIAL RISK: risk that the product will not be
worth its cost
SOCIAL RISK: risk that a poor product choice
may result in social embarrassment
PSYCHOLOGICAL RISK: risk that a poor product
choice will bruise consumer’s ego
TIME RISK: risk that time spent in product search
may be wasted if product does not perform as
expected

15. HOW CONSUMERS HANDLE THE
RISK/GUIDELINES FOR
MARKETERS
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CONSUMERS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMERS
SEEK INFORMATION
BECOME BRAND LOYAL
SELECT BY BRAND IMAGE
RELY ON STORE IMAGE
BUY THE MOST EXPENSIVE MODEL
SEEK REASSURANCE