Chapter No 3

Review the Literature

3.1) Brief the literature of customer perception:

1) Eastwood, D.B, (1985):

The concept of consumer needs to be understood beforegetting an insight about the

behavior and perceptions of consumer. Thus, ‘AConsumer unit is one or more persons
who collectively generate income and allocateit for consumption among the members of
the unit’ .Making it more clear it can besaid that the term customer unit refers domiciliary
which includes individuals,ancestry and those who are living together.

2) Zenithal, (1996):

Perceptions of Consumers’ about a brand are positively enhanced and dampen with
increasing levels of perceived quality and with increasing levels of endure they ambience
respectively. For instance, customers’ judgments of quality are likely to be affected by
the quality suggested by such exotic cues as brand name and price. Brand name, price,
store name/image, and country of origin have also been identified by researchers as
extrinsic cues to (quality) perceptions.

3) Bhattacharya, C.B. &Sen., S., (2003):

Customer behavior advert to the mental , emotional process and the noticeable
behavior of customers during searching, buying and post consumption of a product
or service. It includes study of how people buy, what, when and why they purchase. It
amalgam the aspects from Psychology, Sociology, Socio psychology, Anthropology and
Economics. And also tries to evaluate the access on the customers from groups such as
ancestry, friends, reference groups and society in general.
4) Aaker, D. J. &Joachimsthaler, and E, (2000):

Checking the inducement of brand names Consumers can either be subjective or

objective. The decisions of customers are also yield by retail stores selling the products.
Sales or the service of the sales ladies or the clerks could be determined by the package
or visual appeal of the retail outlet. Moreover, consumers may select distinct
products/brands not only because these products gives the functional or performance
benefits expected, but also because products can be utilized to absolute consumers’
personality, social dignity or alliance (symbolic purposes) or to fulfill their internal
psychological needs, such as the need for difference or newness.

5) Ritu Narang (2006):

With an aim to consider the purchase behavior of the buyers of branded men’s wear
in a study entitled “A Study on Branded Men’s wear”, was catch up in the city of
Luck now. This research was executed with objectives as to study the purchase behavior
of the buyers of branded men’s garments, to study the impact of advertising on the
purchase decision of purchasers, to study the effect of promotional activities on
purchase behavior of buyers.An exploratory type of research was conducted to develop
abstraction about the purchasing behavior of buyers of class men’s attire and the
impact of advertising on their purchase decision. Hence from the study it could be
concluded that most of the times purchasers visit the showrooms of branded attire with
the intension of shopping (Jaishri and Jethwaney, 1999). The purchasing of branded
garments is not impetuous. However, compared to female, male buyers visit the
showroom for passing the time; the number of people visiting the showroom with a brand
in mind is same as the number of people visiting the showroom with no brand in mind;
And Advertising has maximum effect in creating brand awareness.

6) Pathak and Tripathi (2009):

An exploratory research was executed entitled “Customer Shopping Behavior among

Modem Retail Formats: A Study of Delhi &NCR”. It particularly emphasis on consumer
shopping behavior the modern retail formats in Indian scenario among (Sumathi, 2003).
Objectives of the study are to analyze the factors that affect the buyer's decisions among
the modern retail formats and to inquiry the comparative strength of these factors in
buying decision of the consumers.

7) Mishra, (2009):

On the basis of primary as well as secondary research the authors beamed that retailers
tries to apply their own offerings upon consumers and usually overlook the schemes and
offerings expected by the customer which eventually cause the dissatisfaction (Formal, et
al., 2006; 2009). It is also been noticed that in the fast moving retailing environment,
understanding the mind of a customer is difficult for success in retailing.
Agglomerated level picture may be misleading, as it averages the weary and the cleft.
Hence, Individual understanding is adorable.

8) Jayashree Y (1998):

“In the matter of textiles, the consumers go for a wide range of fabrics to select them, and
their desire changes according to the season and geographical areas. Consumer taste is a
controlling aspect in determining the character of goods that appears in the market. A
prudent approach to clothing needs and expense makes the customer more impressive
participates in entire market economy”. Gender has been identified in much literature on
consumer shopping behavior as a crucial aspect in catch on consumer behavior and as a
basic market segmentation index for companies to meet their consumer’ needs and
wants; Marketers should focus to understand the gender differences in decision-making
styles. Research addressing the issue of gender differences in decision-making
styles could assist marketers to identify better ways of communicating with both
sexes and to supervise marketing mix decisions.

9) Fernandez, P. (2009):

He suggests that brand acquainted is the right choice of apparel which helps them to build
a positive image and identity for themselves. Peer impact plays a crucial role in their
choice of brands as it assist in their socialization process. In addition to that, advertising
is an important factor in conferring brand values and develop an image for the brand.
Celebrity endorsements have a big impact on branded apparel too as they promote certain
attributes like apparel image, quality of apparel and status. Additionally, advertising
must be used to not only create awareness but influence brand image and
preference of consumer.

10) Barry Berman and Joel R. Evans, (2007):

"As HNI customers become more discerning about their expenditure in luxury goods, the
desire luxury handbag category players are accretion the bar in uniqueness, exclusivity
and artistic value to satisfy customer demand for true luxury," said Milton Pedraza,
CEO of the Luxury Institute. "The Judith Liber brand is rated as much for being a
work of art as it is rated a luxury by the only pundits who count wealthy customers who
can purchase the brands. Candid surveys are placed on the principle that highly
educated; discerning luxury consumers have the farthest expertise and liableness in
luxury consumption. The Luxury Institute executes its research with independent panels,
and uses third party analytical firms to tabulate the results so that the true voice of luxury
consumers is aggrandizing for the benefit of their associate and industry executives
alike".
3.2) Conceptual framework:

3.2.1 Customer perception:

 Definition:
(Simple word)

Customer perception is an individual’s appreciation of a product or service provided or

marketed to him. This term can be seen as a process that starts when the consumer or
potential consumer receives information about a product and ends when he builds an
opinion or judgment of it.

 What Does Customer Perception Mean?

Companies try to influence consumer perception by making impressions that aim to
persuade them toward consumption. The objective might be to attract new customers,
retain the current ones or increase sales per customer. With a defined purpose, a firm can
apply only one or a combination of different marketing techniques such as advertising,
promotions, samples, social media and public relations, among others in order to have
valuable inputs that help them design techniques, messages and channels that are
assumed to influence customer’s perception.

Marketing departments should try to identify previously the most relevant elements that
are inducing purchasing decisions. Certainly, enhancing customer’s perception is a
complex process that can change from one individual to another. Elements such as price,
quality and benefits are appreciated uniquely in every consumer’s mind.
 Improving customer perception:

1) Look inward:
Companies should be careful not to value process more than customers. The main
obstacle companies face while improving customer perception is themselves and
the way they approach customer success. Putting protocol over people inhibits
customer interactions hence companies should evaluate their approach and
improve communication with customers and proper problem solutions.

2) Lean on positive language:

According to researchers of positivity, positive emotions are able to change the
way people perceive things and make them welcome new possibilities. In a
business environment, these positive interpersonal emotions should not be
suppressed. Constant interactions with customers make products and services
providers develop feelings for them hence an increase in customer satisfaction.

3) Consistency:
To achieve positive customer perception, every activity that requires customer
interaction needs to be flexible and reflective of how companies want customers
to view their brand. This is possible through the establishment of core operating
values to act as a basis for all brand interactions. These values should be a way of
life for the company and include integrity, respect and customer focus.

4) Filling skill gaps:

Customers need to be treated like humans not just sources of money. Products and
services providers need to know when to initiate proactive communication and
what to do when they lack an answer to a certain question or a problem. To
master this kind of approach, proper training and commitment is required in order
to develop the necessary skills to bridge the skills gap.
 Factors affecting customer perception:

 Price :
Customers have a high probability of favoring a product or service that is
economically priced
 Quality :
If the product completely satisfies a customer then it enhances his/her perception
towards it.

 Packaging and branding :

These significantly affect customer perceptions depending on how the product is
presented during purchasing. Attractiveness and display quality increases
perceptions.
 Reputation:
Reputation of products develops over time and depends on the experience with
the product and intensive marketing campaigns that raise the status and brand
identity. This determines customer’s product perceptions.

 Elements of perception:
 Stimuli:
The receipt of information is the stimulus which results in sensation. Knowledge
and behavior depend on senses and their stimulation. These senses are influenced
by a larger number of stimuli. The family, social and the economic environment
are important stimuli for the people. The physiological and psychological
functions are impact of these stimuli. The intensive and extensive forms of stimuli
have a greater impact on the sensory organs. The physical work environment,
socio-cultural environment and other factors have certain stimuli to influence the
employee's perception.

In organizational settings, the supervisor may form the stimulus situation for the
worker's perceptual process.

 Attention:
The stimuli that are paid attention depend purely on the people's selection
capacity and the intensity of stimuli. Educated employees pay more attention to
any stimuli, for example, announcement of bonus, appeal for efficiency, training,
and motivation. The management has to find out suitable stimuli, which can
appeal to the employees at the maximum level. An organisation should be aware
 of all those factors, which affect the attention of the employees. During the
attention process, sensory and neural mechanisms are affected and the message
receiver becomes involved in understanding the stimuli. Taking employees to the
attention stage is essential in an organization for making them behave in a
systematic and required order.

 Recognition:
The messages or incoming stimuli are recognized before they are transmitted into
behavior. Perception is a two-phase activity, i.e., receiving stimuli and translating
the stimuli into action. The recognition process is dependent on mental
acceptability. For example, if a car driver suddenly sees a child in front of his
running car, he stops the car. He recognizes the stimuli, i.e., the life of the child is
in danger. His mental process recognizes the danger after paying attention to the
stimuli. If he does not attention to the stimuli, he cannot recognize the danger.
After recognizing the stimuli, he translates the massage into behavior.

 Translation:
The management in an organization has to consider the various processes of
translating the message into action. The employees should be assisted to translate
the stimuli into action. For example, the announcement of bonus should be
recognized as a stimulus for increasing production. The employee should translate
it into appropriate behavior. In other words, they should be motivated by the
management to increase productivity.

 Behavior:
Behavior is the outcome of the cognitive process. It is a response to change in
sensory inputs, i.e., stimuli. Perceptual behavior is not influenced be reality, but is
a result of the perception process of the individual, his learning and personality,
environmental factors and other internal and external factors at the workplace.
The psychological feedback that may influence the perception of an employee
may be superior behavior, his eye movement, raising of an eyebrow, the tone of
voice, etc. The behavior of employees depends on perception, which is visible in
the form of action, reaction or other behavior. The behavioral termination of
perception may be overt or covert. The perception behavior is the result of the
cognitive process of the stimulus which may be a message or an action situation
of management function. Perception is reflected in behavior, which is visible in
different forms of employees' action and motivation.
 Performance:
Proper behavior learns to higher performance. High performers become a source
of stimuli and motivation to other employees. A performance-reward relationship
is established to motivate people. Satisfaction High performance gives more
satisfaction. The level of satisfaction is calculated with the difference in
performance and expectation. If the performance is more than the expectation,
people are delighted, but when performance is equal to expectation, it results in
satisfaction. On the other hand, if performance is less than the expectation, people
become frustrated and this requires a more appealing form of stimulus of
developing proper employee work behavior and high performance. It is essential
to understand the factors that influence the perception process and mound
employees' behavior towards the corporate objectives and self-satisfaction.