Most of us believe we know how the world works---rather than just perceiving how the world works. Understanding that our perception is not how the world works but only how we see the world, through our own personal and organizational filters, matters.
Jack Trout in his book, "Big Brands, Big Trouble," tells us that the failure to understand the simple truth that marketing is a battle of perceptions trips up many who are hoping to achieve a viable market presence for themselves and their products or services. The perception of a brand or product/service in the mind of the consumer is the reality — everything else is an illusion. Truth has no bearing on the subject — it's all about how the consumer thinks of you and your brand. Misunderstanding consumer perceptions can hurt a company.
In the early 1990s, AT&T had more than a 60% share of the long distance market; but there were problems on the horizon. Customer satisfaction scores were lagging, both Sprint and MCI were very close to AT&T in terms of perceived reliability and consumers couldn't see a real difference between AT&T and the other long distance providers.
But AT&T had a secret weapon — the Fastar program, a system that automatically reroutes calls around an accidental break in a cable line. The system took 5 years and cost $13 billion to develop, but it remained a secret because AT&T didn't market that system. Instead of positioning itself as the "reliable choice" based on its innovative Fastar technology, AT&T marketers positioned the company as the "right choice," which meant nothing to consumers.
AT&T made a massive investment in making their system the reliable choice yet didn't let their prospects and customers in on "the secret." If you have something very special to offer, that the competition doesn't have — then tell the world.
Source: Jack Trout: Big Brands Big Trouble: Lessons Learned the Hard Way