Halliday Holdings is embarking on a programme to improve its customer experience On joining the programme. Natasha wants to gain an understanding of how its current brand is perceived Which would be the BEST source of information for Natasha?

To understand how a brand is currently perceived, it is essential to consult external, independent sources. Independent industry websites, which often feature customer reviews, expert articles, and market comparisons, provide an unbiased and direct view of public and industry perception. This external viewpoint is critical for Natasha to gain an authentic understanding of the brand's reputation and customer sentiment, which is the foundational step for a customer experience improvement programme. Internal sources reflect the company's desired image, not the actual external perception.

B. The company website reflects how the organisation wants to be perceived, which is the intended brand image, not the actual external perception.
C. The company's organisational structure is an internal document detailing reporting lines and has no relevance to how external customers perceive the brand.
D. The company's complaints procedures provide a narrow, negative-focused view of customer dissatisfaction, not a holistic picture of overall brand perception.

1. Paul, D., Cadle, J., & Yeates, D. (2020). Business Analysis (4th ed.). BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. In Chapter 3, Section 3.3, 'Investigating the external environment,' the text emphasizes the importance of external sources such as "websites, trade journals and newspapers" for understanding an organisation's position within its market and industry, which is fundamental to assessing brand perception.

2. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Pearson Education. Chapter 10, 'Crafting the Brand Positioning,' discusses that understanding customer perceptions is key to brand strategy. It highlights the use of external market research and monitoring "online chatter on social media and independent review sites" (a concept aligned with independent industry websites) to gauge the actual brand image held by consumers. (This is a standard university-level text on the subject).