How People Form Impressions Of Companies, September 2014 [CHART]

The quality of a company’s products and services is by far the most important factor for consumers when they form their impressions about a company, finds a recent study by Vanessa DiMauro and Don Bulmer in conjunction with The Society For New Communications Research. While quality is also the top factor that builds consumer loyalty and influences their purchase decisions, price and customer service switch roles depending on the consumer motivation in question.

Respondents – the vast majority of whom are US-based – were presented with a list of 11 factors and asked to rate their importance when forming impressions about a company. 8 in 10 rated the quality of products and services very important; by comparison, the cost of products and services was very important to 55%. Beyond those, the company’s customer care program (37%) edged what friends, family or other trusted people say about the company (34%) in importance, both slightly ahead of customer reviews and ratings on social media sites (30%). At the bottom of the list were what the media reports about the company (13%), what the company says in ads (10%) and the company’s social media presence (7%). Read the rest at MarketingCharts.