You've heard this before, haven't you?
You don't get a second chance to make a first
impression.
This wisdom has been handed
down for centuries, and yet we sometimes wonder: Is anyone paying
attention? How often have you visited a business, a professional, an
advisor of some type, only to wonder how they remain in business? Some
people just don't seem to care about making an impression…a good
impression, that is.
A Personal Story from Jim Sirbasku
When Bud and I started Profiles International Inc., we rented 550
square feet of office space and sold to companies with bigger closets.
We knew it was important for us to look bigger than we were, so we
hired a professional firm to give us a logo that delivered an impact.
We also asked them to create an image brochure to tell our story in
such a way as to impress even the biggest corporations
One day, we gathered all of
our printed materials: Letterhead, business cards, image brochures,
etc., and Bud exclaimed, "Our image is bigger than we are!" From that
point forward, we made it our mission to grow the company to be as big
as our image. Of course, this has become a never-ending program of
reinventing ourselves by creating an ever-growing image.
Through this evolution,
Profiles International Inc. has changed from a pencil and paper
testing company into a high-science information company. We have
employed the services of skilled psychologists who develop and improve
our products. Through the Internet, our products are instantly
available to customers worldwide.
Our company image is all
about lasting impressions. Getting our image right is one of the most
important exercises we undertake in assuring our success as business
owners. Most people think their company's image is something largely
outside of their control. It's not! Based on our experiences, as well
as information we've gleaned from a variety of professionals, the
following three steps will help you to build an image to foster the
success you desire as a business owner.
Step 1. Identify the
Image You Want to Project
Before you can build an image, you need to decide what image you want
for your business. Ask yourself three questions:
What Image
Should My Business Project?
If you were a banking institution, you'd most likely want to project
conservatism, low risk and good standing. If, on the other hand, you
were a Silicon Valley electronics company, you'd want to project an
image of innovation and risk taking. Decide whether you want your
customers to view you as innovative, reliable, conservative, bold,
progressive, traditional, professional, friendly, etc. Come up with
one or two words effectively capturing the image you'd like to
project.
Who are My
Target Customers?
Whatever else you do, you must ensure that your
image closely matches the image your target customers have of
themselves. Who are your target customers? Where do they currently go
for advice on products and services like yours? How much do you they
have to spend? Would you open a luxury hotel in a low-income area?
There's simply no point in being the most expensive or best of class
in your area if nobody in your area can afford to shop with you.
Equally, you'd be squandering the potential (and the likely higher
real-estate costs) in a high-income area by establishing a budget
motel. For optimum success, be sure that there are enough of the kinds
of customers you'd like to target to make the business work, and that
the image you decide to project matches your target customers closely
enough to attract them to you.
Who is My
Competition?
Look at the image of your most successful competitors. If you have an
outstandingly successful competitor, figure out which aspect(s) of
their image fosters their success. Are they very reliable? Have they a
strong service orientation? Have they an incredibly wide range of
products? You'll want to adopt positive elements of their image, and
enhance them with whatever you feel makes your business special. If
your competitor offers an extraordinarily wide range of products and
you do too, you can adopt that aspect of their image, but enhance it
with another feature of your business. For example, in addition to the
wide product range, let's say you also create a reputation for
extremely friendly service. Don't try to compete with a successful
competitor's image head on; find some additional aspect to make your
image special, if not unique.
Step 2: Build an
Identity that Projects your Desired Image
Once you know what sort of image you'd like to project, it's
time to build a vehicle which will allow you to project your new image
effectively.
Start with a
Logo
A good identity is about consistency. All of the
ways in which you communicate with your customers must have a
consistent and considered look and feel. There are many other aspects
to a company identity, but few are more important than the logo. When
it appears over your door, on your business card, or your letterhead,
in advertisements, and on brochures, your logo should instantly convey
your desired image. Get professional help. Some believe that designers
are very expensive to work with. This need not be so. Besides large
graphic-design studios that might cost a little more, there are many
freelance graphic designers who will work with you to help you to
craft a logo that works well for you. You'll find plenty of designers
in the Yellow Pages. Don't skimp on your logo, because poor
communication of your image will cost you more than a designer.
Working with
Designers
Designers are like lawyers and other professionals. They work better
when you have a plan for them to follow. Before you sit down with your
designer, brainstorm about the basics of your required logo. Doing so
will save your designer time and save you money.
The main elements you need to think about
are:
Slogans often accompany a logo. We all
remember "Pepsi Cola Hits the Spot," and Avis "tries harder." These
one-liners are intended to enhance the message portrayed by the logo,
and to make it more memorable. Developing a one-line catch phrase
before meeting with a designer can make the designer's job easier.
Think of the main aspect of the image you
feel sets your business apart from your competitors, and will appeal
most to your customers. If you emphasize the family in your business,
then your tagline might be something like "Not just a garden center –
a family center." Build a six- or seven-word catch phrase around
whatever is the key aspect of the image you want to foster.
Color is an important part of your image.
Reds, yellows, oranges and other bright colors tend to suggest
pioneering, trendsetting and fun; white, blue, gray and darker greens
tend to suggest a quieter, conservative image. (Look at the dominant
colors in bank logos.) What colors are appropriate to the image you've
selected? Be careful not to be swayed by colors you like personally
but are at odds with your image. A good way to begin is by thinking
carefully about the sort of colors you don't want to use. This will be
of great help to your designer.
The image conveyed by the more formal
typefaces used in newspapers is vastly different from that projected
by simple cursive typefaces, which is, in turn, different from the
image portrayed by heavily stylized modern alphabets. The typeface you
choose is one of the strongest image cues your logo can provide. If
you know what sort of image you want, your designer will be able to
advise you about appropriate typefaces.
Designers are adept at producing clever
graphical representations of the message you want to convey. If you
decide to use a graphic element in your logo, be sure that it is easy
to understand, and that the logo still communicates your message even
if a potential customer doesn't get the point of your graphic. In
other words, use graphics to enhance the words. Don't let the graphic
dominate. It could confuse and project the wrong image.
Step 3. Once You Have
Your Identity, Use It!
It's time to start using your new identity to build
your image.
Use Your Logo Everywhere
Your logo is at the heart of your company's identity. It must appear
on all signage, vehicles, letterheads, invoices, business cards,
envelopes, packaging, uniforms, anything issued by your company. Look
for opportunities to use your logo in everyday situations. For
example, there are many inexpensive, easy-to-use graphics programs
that allow you to produce first-class marketing materials with little
effort. Use them!
Be Sure that Your Employees
Buy Into the Image
A key to projecting a consistent image to your
customers is ensuring that your employees understand the image you are
trying to project, what values it encompasses, and how it translates
into everything they do. This needs to be integrated into every aspect
of your business, from the way you answer the telephone to the way you
deal with customers.
Can I Change My Existing
Image?
Absolutely. If you have an established identity that has failed to
build the image you desire to the level you would like, change it. You
may be concerned that some elements of your existing identity are
successful in their own right, and still relevant. For example, your
logo may already be quite well known, even if it's not quite conveying
precisely the image you would like. Work out which parts of your
current identity you'd like to retain, then go through the exercise of
creating your identity in the manner discussed above. When it comes to
logo redesign, you will find that working with your designer to come
up with a new logo to fit your new idea of the identity you require,
but still retaining the better elements of your previous identity, is
a lot easier than you might have expected.
Image is something you need to review
regularly as your business grows and expands and your target customers
change. Examine it regularly. Is the image you're projecting still
what you need? Is the identity that got you to where you are now
appropriate to future development? If not, fine-tune it.
Your business's image is one of your most
important assets. The small investment of time, effort and money you
make in it now will realize far greater returns long into the future.
Invest in your image and make a lasting impression, a good impression
the first time, every time.
* From the book 40 STRATEGIES FOR WINNING IN
BUSINESS by Bud Haney and Jim Sirbasku. © S&H Publishing Co., 5205
Lake Shore Drive, Waco, Texas 76710-1732. All rights reserved. Contact
S&H Publishing Co., (254) 751-1644, for reprint permission.
Talent wins
games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.
-- Michael Jordan, retired professional basketball player, businessman