Which is the game-changer – Reality or Perception?

I might not even know a two-stroke engine from a four-stroke engine, but does that deter me from elevating a Japanese car brand riding on Japanese engineering, way above an American one? The answer is no, or rather: the answer is ‘everybody knows’ - Everybody knows that Japanese vehicles are superior to American vehicles.
What is this? Reality; or Perception; or is it Perception based on Reality?
Management deals in facts and figures; “Getting to the bottom of the situation” is the goal. In short, management deals in reality. Marketing, on the contrary, deals in perception. What matters to marketing people are not the “facts” of a situation, but what’s in the minds of consumers? Is what in the mind of consumers real, who cares?
The importance of perception is not lost on the management even. So then, why this conundrum; where are the fault lines?
Management believes perception is a mirror. It’s just a reflection of reality. Change the reality and you change the perception. Marketing people disagree. Changing reality is easy. But changing perception is among the most difficult jobs in the universe – almost impossible.
So - who’s winning or does there have to be a winner? Why not hear what the champions of either side have to say………
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