Perception Management

By Author: Sushant Sharma
Total Articles: 8
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With economy witnessing slowdown, businesses are facing investment crunch. There is scepticism in the market, with investors doubtful of investing, which has hurt growth.

Organisations that enjoy a good perception in the public mind-space are generally the ones which manage to ride the wave and sail through difficult market environment. They have the backing of investors who are ready to back them in difficult economic conditions and invest in them compared to more seemingly profitable options which do not enjoy similar perception amongst the public. But why do they enjoy such perception while others don’t.

Perception is not something that can be bought or built overnight. It is a by-product of how an organisation conducts its business. It is based in facts and built over a period of time on the base of right values and ethics. If an organisation doesn’t do things correctly, then no amount of external communication can help it form a positive perception about itself in the public mind-space.

At the same time, it is very important to manage perception. Perception management entails turning each communication ...
... into a step in the ladder that takes an organisation closer to attaining a perfect image in the public mind-space. It requires targeting the positives of an organisation on the desired audiences. This has to be done through well-articulated and well placed messages presented in a relevant context. The desired audience is diverse and includes both internal and external stakeholders of an organisation, making the task of managing perception more complex. It requires a different set of skills, honed by practitioners of perception management, over a period of time.

While this is true that perception builds over a period of time based on actions of an organisation, but managing the same is important. With communication explosion happening, public is being exposed to information, some true some false, some positive and some negative. As is the human nature, we tend to believe more of the negative stuff. This makes highlighting the positives about an organisation that much more important. This is a task best left to perception management experts who are adept in the art of communication. They have the know-how of directing each communications effort towards a desired result and have an understanding of what to communicate and when to communicate. They do not make any false claims, but highlight what is true and what is good about an organisation in a relevant context. They help build a truthful perception of an organisation that is positive in nature and thus help an organisation grow in the long run.

Author of the article is associated with India InfoMedia, a public relation firm that provides perception management assistance to businesses through strategic communication.