MIT Sloan Management Review

Marketing

Prioritizing Marketing Image Goals under Resource Constraints

By Howard Barich and V. Srinivasan

July 15, 1993

MANAGERS WHO WISH TO IMPROVE CUSTOMERS’ IMAGE OF THEIR COMPANIES CAN RUN COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS, IMPROVE PRODUCTS, add personnel, and so forth. But how can managers decide which improvements in perceptions would be most beneficial and cost-effective? The authors present a method to (1) determine the company attributes that are relevant to customers; (2) rank the importance of those attributes; (3) estimate the costs of making improvements (or correcting customer perceptions); and (4) prioritize image goals so that the improvements in perceptions obtain the maximum benefit, in terms of customer value, for the resources spent.

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Image assessment and enhancement are essential strategic management tools. Managers must be able to assess their company’s current image or reputation in the marketplace and improve it. Although it would be ideal to achieve top ratings on every attribute, such as product quality, after-sales service, and reliability, it is not realistic. Given limited resources, managers must decide which of the attributes are more important to the company’s target market and consider how difficult it would be to enhance the image on those attributes. In this paper, we propose an approach for prioritizing marketing image goals by taking into account market preferences and resource requirements. The approach is potentially applicable to small, medium, and large companies, including not-for-profit organizations. In the first half of the paper, we explain the method; in the second half, we describe how a company applied the method.

Marketing Image

The impressions, beliefs, and feelings that people have about a company constitute the firm’s image.1 These impressions may be true or false, real or imagined. If people hold incorrect negative perceptions about the company or its products, then management needs to communicate with them in order to change the incorrect perceptions. On the other hand, if the negative perceptions are accurate, then the company needs to address the actual problems.

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