Image is Everything

Perhaps there should be a sub-head for that title.  Or maybe the headline should be longer.  Regardless, rest assured that this blog is about branding and putting the best face possible on your business.  These are not thoughts that would imply vanity or promoting materialism.

For the record, on the topic of vanity or materialism, it is important to note that whether you’re representing yourself as a performer or a solo-preneur, or representing your employer, looks are important as far as what you want people to think of your business.  Even if your ‘business’ is you performing, distressed jeans and a raggedy t-shirt are going to speak volumes, but not the way you want them to.  I’m thinking here of Vince Vaughn in “Wedding Crashers” saying, “Rule #6 – Do not sit in the corner and sulk.  It draws attention in a negative way.  Draw attention to yourself, but on your own terms.”

Last week we announced the signing of a new (not so) small business client.  Coincidentally, last week I also did a presentation to a local business group about how spelling, grammar, punctuation, and even your email client can say something (bad) about your brand.

Perhaps I’m writing this week toward the businesses more so than the performers, but everyone should keep in mind that in today’s competitive marketplace with watchdogs such as Angie’s List and your friends who are on social media, every misspelled word or untucked shirt could be the difference between you getting the sale and your opponent taking on a new customer.

It used to be that the product had to be good enough.  Then customer service became the big buzz word.  And those two components are still requirements.  What I’m writing about here is the ribbon that you tie around the package that elicits a “Wow” response from potential as well as current customers.

Imagine walking into a home entertainment store and encountering an employee whose shirt is tucked in when you see them from the front, but is still out in the back.  You pause for a moment but then decide you’re there to buy a TV, not to make a new friend.  However, the employee takes you to where the TVs are but then isn’t sure which is the model that’s on sale.  Finally, when you settle on one, this same employee brings it out in a box from the stockroom, and the box has a football-sized hole along the side.  You’re going to leave that store with an uneasy feeling and certainly won’t be telling anyone to go shop there too.

If you send out an e-newsletter about yourself or your business and it has spelling mistakes or it’s a template and you didn’t enter any information where it said, “Use this area to offer a short preview of your email’s content,” don’t you think the reader is going to take you much less seriously?  (The latter is something I actually saw come through my Inbox recently.)

Don’t just settle.  Be the pro you know you want to be.  Your brand and your customers deserve it.