Perception is reality to most consumers which is why we believe so strongly in a consumer first process. Understanding how consumers perceive your brand will show you the limits of what will and will not get them to consider you.

The hardest thing a brand can do is convince - to go against what people already believe and to ask them to believe something different. Actually, that's not just true for brands, it's applicable to anything or anyone. In the scheme of natural human interactions, conversion is relatively rare. To succeed at convincing, you need to overcome all the natural resistance that comes with encountering something new. Essentially, you need to break down all the inclination that has already amassed for an idea or a storyline. You need to destroy the loyalty that already exists for what people have and replace its equity. That's amazingly difficult. As Seth Godin once observed, "If the story of your marketing requires the prospect to abandon a previously believed story, you have a lot of work to do."

Read more from the source: Branding Strategy Insider