Is it possible to change negative customer perception about the product? If Yes, then explain the procedure...

I agree with all answers given by all colleagues.

All you have to do is just RE-POSITION your Product. Re-positioning is the strategy which marketers uses to change the Perception of there PRODUCT in consumers mind.

YES.

Perceptions made by any human being are based on information available with him/her on the subject. Some are authenticated by their own personal experiences, rest are pure perceptions. While you listen to your customer, you will be able to easily identify these.

1.       Pure perceptions can be tackled by providing hard factual positive data on your product.

2.       Perceptions based on personal experience can be tackled by understanding the basis of those perceptions. The idea is to spend time with the customer to identify those perceptions and the circumstances under which they were developed. To take care of these you can

a.       Provide evidence of changed circumstances, tech advancement etc.  

b.      Provide solutions offered by your product coupled with few testimonials or client referrals etc.    

Tactics may differ from industry to industry, but the basics remain same. I hope, this also answers other questions posted by you. :-)

The prospect can be negative to your product because

1.He does not have a perceived need, 

2. Misunderstanding the benefits of your product or service

In the first case you need to really understand the prospect's intention by probing and to uncover the requirement. In the second case you should find out why he feels so, then from the answer received,you need to provide him the proof that proves his perception is incorrect. If you are able to convince the prospect then he will change. Still if he is not convinced, then you can be rest assured that you have not really understood what is the prospect's misunderstanding about your product or service. The only way to convince the prospect is by offering proof that clarifies his doubt.

YES

This lies within the scope of one task of Sales and Marketing which is to convince the customer that he should choose for their product rather than of the competitors. It includes both customer who have no or negative perception  of your product.

There are many ways to make your customer get a positive perception:

- Create personal trust

- Demonstrating

- Challenging

- Use referrals

- Give official warranties

- Free samples

- Money back guarantee

- No cure no pay policy

agreed with krishna,,,,,,,,

Listen to what would please them or their concerns and share solutions that may benefit other customers as well. Engaging their ideas can help build a sense of Relationship with your company, Delight them with a bonus gift or new benefit. By going the extra mile, you may win the customer’s loyalty.

Yes:

E.g : In olden days For kitchen purposes Coal and wood were used to make fire for cooking: Later on it was to a large extent being replaced by:

1. Electric stoves/heaters/hotplates/induction stoves/microwave

2. Use of LPG gas

Before it being popularized it has undergone many anxieties and anguish before it is now well perceived and accepted  and replaced the old primitive methods which ultimately resulted in protection of Nature and greenery.

at first i must know from where this negative perception come

so i must prob to clarify

it will be easy if it is

hearing from competitor  , from other college of him , roomers in market 

because i must give him the full certified data and also give him the chance to try to give me his opinion and his trial experience

it will be not easy if

he had his own bad experience with this product

at this case i must review with him how he use it and in any case and under any circumstances and must be very careful because at end of this scion he must have doubts of  his negative perception

because if i will dig deep carefully i will find that he is not sure

so after all that i must start make full detail call with clarification of all his negative points and ask him to do as trial using my product and give final judgment with time framed trial and number of cases with specific criteria matching the exact use of product

at this case if he got the result he want he will be my advocate of my product if some one have this negative perception

at last some customer have some problems as not like the company produce the product or the sales man before 

at this case i must try hardly to change his perception by regular visits and be committed by every thing i will say with him and this type of customer take long time to return again to deal with the company

How do you change a negative customer perception of your brand?

Perception is everything. As we know, if customers have a poor or negative feeling about your brand then it’s very difficult to change it without a real focus. In the hyper sensitive world of social media your brand and how you respond to your customers’ issues has become increasingly important to manage and defend.

Why negative perceptions arise – In most cases they exist because you have not lived up to your customers’ expectations – the service was poor, the food was bad, the quality is not that good. In some instances, issues arise when brands with a particular image try to do different things and appeal to different audiences. Here the issue is more fundamental as the perceptions can often challenge the original brand itself.

Some examples If we take a look at recent events from the banks, for example, we can see how you can undermine you brand and very quickly turn your customers against you. The Co-operative Bank and RBS demonstrate how quickly perceptions can change for the worse and change very quickly.

On the high street we are currently seeing how brands like Mothercare are struggling as many people feel the brand is old and tired and not relevant to the internet age of Mamas and Papas.

One shining example of turnaround has been demonstrated by Skoda, that15 years ago had a very negative brand perception. Many people believed the car was poorly made and had quality issues. It almost became the joke of the car market. But today, following its acquisition by the Volkswagen Group in2000, is a great example of high quality, low prices and well engineered cars.

Another interesting example is SAGA who have traditionally provided services for the older customer, but who have for over10 years been struggling with how to make their brand relevant and appealing to the younger50-something. When you have just turned50 the last thing you want to do is be seen as old

So how do you go about tackling some of these issues? What do brands need to focus on and how do you change perceptions?

Here are my five rules for brand perception, change and management.

1) Challenge negative perceptions as soon as they arise, defend your brand and manage its reputation, especially in the face of negative feedback on service and quality. If you are a service business this is where you should focus all of your efforts. Customer feedback should be actively sought through questionnaires, feedback forms, mystery shopping and via your social media channels. If you embrace negative feedback and encourage comments then you can do something about them. Don’t bury your head in the sand and expect them to go away. Take a look at Trip Advisor and look at what people are saying about hotels and you will see how important it is to be living and breathing your customers’ experiences. Retailers should also take note. If people are not in your store then they may be in your competitors’ for good reason.

2) Focus on your brand values and positioning, as this is key to demonstrating your true brand value. The one thing that stands out for me when you look at what Skoda has done is focus on communicating the brand values and telling us through advertising what a great product it is producing. This was based on extensive research and listening to its customers. But fundamentally what it did was to position the brand around a clear set of values and a strong promise linked to the Volkswagen Group reputation.

3) Focus on the customer and listen to their issues – research and customer feedback are key. I have already talked about the importance of listening to your customers but again you need to make sure you have a very proactive approach embedded in sound market research. It’s no good you thinking or believing something. It should be spoken by your customers. Focus on what they say and you will not go far wrong.

4) Never get complacent. This in many respects it the first rule of brand. One mistake can end it all. Just ask Gerald Ratner. So don’t expect things to stay the same. Look at Apple now. Post the late, great Steve Jobs the world has been waiting to see if the company can continue to innovate without him. Lying in the wings are Samsung and Google ready to take the coveted mantel. Even with the loyalty of Apple customers, if you fail to live up to your brand promise every day, then people vote with their feet and their pockets.

5) Communicate your message and own your brand perception. If the first rule of brand is never get complacent then the second must be communicate or lose your identity. Mothercare, and to some extent SAGA, fall into this category. I can’t remember the last Mothercare advert or message I have seen. Given I have three children under5 years old that is quite a surprise. There is not an excuse to simply ignore your customer base and expect them to remember you because you have been around for a long time. For SAGA it’s a different communications issue with two directions you can take. One, invent a sub-brand and target the50-65 market with something different. This is what M&S has done to get to the younger market with its Per Una range/brand. And what many others have done when the segments are too diverse to talk to with one voice and with one image. Alternatively you have to fundamentally readdress the whole brand. What does it stand for and what do customers think of it? This is the Skoda experience. Here you should challenge the misconceptions head on. Don’t run away from them, turn them into positives. It’s difficult but there are plenty of creative ways you can do it.

It’s always about the brand? So perception is everything and it’s up to you to ensure that you are in control of yours. Focus on your customers and their comments, communicate at all times, research proactively and if you need to challenge and move into new markets fundamentally review your brand perceptions and own them.

Perception is generally based on hearing from unreliable sources and therefore it can be changed by providing information from reliable source. To do that one needs to probe to find the reason for that perception and the source from where that information was collected. Straighten the information backed by facts from the reliable source for the perception to change.