Determining perception gap through twitter

Being an analytics professional, I like doing interesting analyses on various hypotheses I have regarding what is going on in the world. Most recently, I’ve been thinking about how there is a mismatch between what the businesses portray and what the consumers actually feel about brands.

To test this hypothesis, I analyzed 100,000 tweets of four brands: Sears, Wal-mart, Kroger and Macy’s. And the findings are in line with the hypothesis. Consumers have a very specific impression of each brand which is the sum total of all the marketing efforts and in-store experiences e.g. we can see below in the first chart that Sears has a very distinct impression compared to other retailers. One surprising thing that I found in the analysis is that there is very little buzz around celebrity associations despite the massive marketing dollars which are poured into it.

No doubt, social media has become an integral part of marketing divisions but its real power– to determine consumer sentiment – is still grossly underutilised. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, businesses need to be extra attentive to what consumers are saying and what better a place to learn that other than social media, to which consumers pour their hearts out 24 hours a day in their highly connected lives through smartphones, tablets and desktops.

You may also find it interesting to read our blog on how social media is transforming the CPG and Retail Industry not just in USA but around the world.