Business Image

by Allen Beck, AKOR Services

Executive Summary

This is a snapshot of what I will cover in this article:

Introduction
Bad, Bad Business Images
Brick-and-Mortar vs Internet
Your Customer’s Demographics
What Does Your Customer See?
Your Website
Quotes, Invoices and Marketing Materials
Your Business Products and Services
Promotional Materials
Conclusion
Download your Business Self-Assessment Form

Introduction

This is not a book, so I cannot possibly cover everything I’d like to cover for all of these topics. Instead I will ask a lot of questions for you to think about, and provide you some answers. I hope you can really consider what you see vs what your customer sees when they look at your business. I have been on the inside of businesses looking up, down, inside and outside from the perspective of an employee, manager, owner and consultant for many years. I have also been on the outside, looking in, as a customer and consultant for many years as well. Each view is quite unique and different. These are all perspectives that I encourage each of you to view as business owners. The questions and ideas I pose today will hopefully help you do a self-inventory and view your business from each of these perspectives just a little better and differently. A customer’s first impression of your business can be quite lasting and hard to overcome, so make it a good one. You only get one opportunity to make a good first impression. In this age of internet-based businesses, where all the customers are self-proclaimed “influencers”, lets just agree that it may be easier, less expensive and time-consuming to make a good first impression and to work hard to keep it than it is to overcome bad reviews. In an age when “brick-and-mortar” businesses are closing at an alarming rate, and internet-based business are thriving, but at the expense of “influencers”, I believe it is more important than ever before to consider your business image, no matter what your industry is or whether you are a brick-and-mortar or an internet-based business.

Bad, Bad Businesses

What mental image immediately comes to your mind when you read that title? If you are like me, I am sure you have had some bad business experiences recently, or am I the only one? I don’t think so. Whether it was an internet business or a physical brick-and-mortar business, what comes to your mind? Was it the restaurant where you experienced poor service, uncleanliness or poor food quality for high prices? Was it the physical business you went into where you couldn’t find anyone to help you? Or worse, did you find employees just talking among themselves who wouldn’t help you or were completely un-knowledgeable about their products or services? What about trying to contact that internet-based business for returns or questions, and you just want to talk to a live person to hopefully quickly resolve some issues, rather than spending a lot of time online searching for answers? What about the businesses that today want to push their political, religious or social issues and views more than their products or services? I know something specific comes to your mind, right? You have opinions about that, right? So do your customers. Let’s explore this a little more in some specific areas. By the end of this article I am sure you will have identified some items in your mind that you want to address or readjust in your own business.

Brick-and-Mortar vs Internet-Based Businesses

As you would guess, brick-and-mortar (BAM) businesses are faced with different issues than internet-based businesses (IBB). Just to name a few, BAM businesses have to deal with higher product and services costs due to the expense of their facilities including fixed costs, insurance costs (liability and vandalism), and these days, inventory shrinkage due to theft. They must offer accessible and convenient parking and facilities. Yet, customers are still demanding low prices, just like on the internet. That translates to lower profit margins for the BAM businesses. That also means restaurants that are selling $20 burgers because of the pressure for higher wages AND the more expensive BAM facilities. They are being squeezed from all sides.

Lets contrast IBBs. They still have BAM facility expenses to contend with for distribution and processing. They may still have all costs associated with inventory carrying (depending on their business model). They still have products and services to provide. Yet, they are squeezed by the customers to have the absolutely lowest prices, competing with businesses like Amazon. Add to that, ever-rising freight prices so that customers can have nearly immediate deliveries (sometimes worldwide), and the customers all want “free shipping”, which we business owners know are absolutely NOT free. Add to that they want very generous return policies, which customers will admittedly abuse, and that all needs to be free to the customer as well. They too are being squeezed from all sides

Have I got all of that more-or-less right? It doesn’t matter whether you are a BAM or IBB these days, these are huge issues to address and master. This is where you are going to have to trust me a bit. I submit to you that these issues are all “Business Image Issues”. You don’t think so? Consider this. Do you know of businesses that charge premium prices and still have an endless supply of customers, even in bad economic times? (E.G. Costco and Sam’s Clubs). Perhaps even waiting lists? Do you know of businesses that make you wait longer periods of time to get a product or service, and their customers are happy to do so? (Perhaps not “happy”, but they will wait). (E.G. automobile dealers these days). I know those images come to mind as well for you. These are not only business image issues, but additionally supply and demand issues.

What’s the difference between those business? It’s about excellent communications, providing excellent service, being responsive to customer complaints, and going above and beyond to project a business image that is satisfying and pleasing to customers and that customers want to be a part of. If customers receive products and services, with excellent customer service skills, and the businesses go above and beyond to take care of their customers, then they can have higher prices and longer lead times because customers are willing to pay more for excellent customer service and products IF they are treated very well. SERVICE IS IN SUCH HIGH DEMAND AND SHORT SUPPLY THESE DAYS THAT WHEN CUSTOMERS FIND IT, THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT. That’s your first nugget from this article. Think about it. It happens every day.

Your Customer’s Demographics

What is your customer’s demographic? Let me rephrase that. Consider your target demographic for your ideal customers. How does your business meet their needs better, or in a different way than your competition? What makes your business unique or standout? How are you getting that word out to your target customers? Do you want better, higher quality customers? Figure this one out.

I will tell you that there are more businesses out there today that really don’t care about that question. So many businesses are focused on “making a sale”, rather than meeting/exceeding the needs of customers. Meet a need and you’ll succeed. If you need to, reread the above paragraphs. You don’t always have to be the cheapest or quickest. But you do need to solve a need, provide great customer service, with great communications and at a price that provides great value to your customer. You do that consistently and you will succeed. You need to answer these questions and get the word out to potential customers. Word of mouth from highly satisfied customers is invaluable and is the best advertising you can have. This is absolutely a business image issue.

What Does Your Customer See?

Time and time again, I have witnessed businesses falling down on this issue. Again, absolutely a business image issue. Businesses and their employees work in their business every day. They know how things work. Their policies make sense to them….based on their procedures that work for their business. They are very familiar with their products and services. Essentially, they try to force their (round) customers into these little square boxes called policies and procedures. Customers just want their problems solved quickly. I recommend looking at all of this from a customer’s perspective. How do you do that? I think one of the best ways is to have “secret shoppers” come in and experience the business, go through the sales process, hear all the jargon, etc., and then provide honest feedback about their experience directly to the business owner. Hire a consultant to do that, or perhaps better yet, have a trusted friend that will be honest to you and give you complete feedback on their experience. Then, listen to what they have to say. Perhaps get several different people to experience your business…whatever it has to offer, in a variety of ways, and then get all their feedback, independently. Then make adjustments to your business. I submit to you that you are too close to your business to make good assessments of this nature.

Things you really need to consider if you are a BAM business:

Phones. Are they answered promptly by humans with kindness, genuine helpfulness and without routing customers all over the building before they finally get the answers they need? This is a huge bone of contention for most customers. Don’t ruin your business image right here on this early-on step. Provide resources for people to contact live people at your business. Make it easy to find. Be friendly and helpful. Fight the urge to make people go through your website to contact live people. Make the information available, yes. But don’t force the issue.
Parking and accessibility for your business. Is it good or bad?
Curb appeal of your business. Take in all aspects. Do you need upgrades? Ask your customers what you need to improve if necessary, or perhaps utilize the services of a “secret shopper”.
Customer greeting. Not just greeted, but are customers promptly helped? Don’t let customers out of your business without meeting their needs. They took the time to come to your business. Now help them while they are there.
Smells. Don’t forget that smells also say a lot about your business. Consider Realtors. When agents are showing a home, have you ever experienced the smell of freshly baked cookies when entering the home? Or did you smell mold or mildew? No smell is preferable to bad smells. Smell is a strong sense that say a lot about a business without uttering a word. It is a strong indicator for first impressions. Here is another example. No judgement here, but if your business or employees smell of marijuana, and you’re not a dispensary, it’s probably not a good indicator for your business.
Organization of your business. How is your lobby or waiting area? What is the first thing that people see when they walk in? Is it neat and clean and logically organized to the customer. (Not like a grocery store where it’s all marketing and you have to walk to the very back of the store for the bread, milk and eggs that you came in for). Does your signage and organization make sense to the customer? Is it safe, well lit, and accessible? (Many reasons for this question). If you are a small contractor, are people greeted by seeing piles/stacks of “stuff”, or is your area where you greet customers inviting and usable.
Company vehicles. Are they clean, attractive and appropriately professional looking? Does “stuff” fall out of your vehicles when you open the doors? Are they beat up, dented and scratched? You can consider vehicle wraps without replacing the vehicles. Are they in good shape mechanically. It’s not good if they break down on the way to your customers.
Your employees. This is a hard one in the days of free government money, and when no one wants to work. As you know, quality employees are hard to find and retain these days, but they are out there. Look for non-traditional sources. Are they in uniform, neat, clean and groomed appropriately for your business? Personal hygiene? Are they stoned or drunk (I’m not kidding on this one – look back at Bad Business examples)? Are they knowledgeable and well-trained? Do they like your business? What do they say about it, your products and your services? Do they smile and are they actually friendly and helpful? Are they organized and professional with your customers? Do they look like they truly want to assist your potential customers, or are they there just collecting a paycheck?
Politics/religion/social issues. This is a touchy one. This is your business. I will just say that you must be intentional with your business how you choose to either embrace or stay away from these issues. These issues can get you in legal trouble, and they all have the potential of polarizing your customer base in negative ways. You must deal with your position on these issues and be sure that your employees are well-trained as to how they are to handle/avoid these issues. HUGE business image issue. Think of both good and bad businesses you are aware of and how they handle (or don’t handle) these issues. Remember what the law says in your area. My recommendation is that you remember that you are in business to sell products and services and not to use your business as a platform to get out your views and opinions. However, what you do with your business profits is your own business. What are you in business to accomplish?

Your Website

If you are still with me, we’ve covered a lot of ground already. You may know that I developed websites for many years. I have developed dozens over the years, and I have viewed and analyzed hundreds, if not thousands of websites. Every website has a purpose. My favorite purpose for websites, depending on your industry, is for your website to put your best foot forward, in whatever way that might be, and to supply potential customers with the latest and most accurate information available on your hours of operation, products, services and policies. Personally, I love it when websites are used as information tools to help direct customers and potential customers to live people, that will help them personally. I believe a website should not tell everything there is to know about your business, but instead, tell enough to customers to help them know they need your products and services, and then provide the means to contact live people to close the sale and actually help those customers. My opinion is that your website should always leave them wanting just a little more, creating a sense of need and urgency.

But I also do not like websites that look “cookie cutter”, looking like 1 person developed 100 or more websites with the same templates. They need to get out your business image in a unique way. They absolutely must be accurate, up to date, current, and easy to navigate and use. Beyond that, they should be unique to your business, portraying your business image, informative and actually useful. Potential customers use search engines to find potential businesses, and they use the results to “pre-qualify” and locate suppliers (your business). It’s simple. If your business doesn’t have a well-designed website that is registered properly with the big search engines then you have a near zero chance of being found. If those thing ARE done, then you have a 30% chance of being found, mostly if someone already know your business name and is searching for you. The next step beyond that is engaging a professional company to do search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) in order to increase your positioning in the search engines. This is mandatory! To be sure, your website MUST reflect your proper business image that has been carefully considered and refined over a period of time. That’s just the process to be found these days.

Quotes, Invoices and Marketing Materials

What about other marketing materials though? These could be anything from quotation forms, invoices, envelopes, envelope inserts, downloadable .PDF documents, brochures, flyers and an entire list of other indoor and outdoor marketing tools, aids and materials. All of these have the potential of being marketing materials for your business.

If you are a business that either needs to attract new potential customers, look professional to those customers, or start with a quotation, then this is what you need to consider.

If you are working with a potential customer today, it’s best that your quote is delivered, professionally looking, today, right when you see them. It’s best if you can close the deal on the spot. Your odds of closing the deal decrease dramatically the longer it has been since you met the potential customer or to deliver the quote. Fact. However, there are valid circumstances that you need to do homework before quoting the customer. It must be timely and professional looking. There are many different systems out there, for many different industries that can facilitate this for you. But I have seen otherwise professional companies present terrible looking quotations, that they sometimes take days or weeks to prepare, and lose work accordingly. Don’t be that person. Be professional and timely.

I will say that with all the new technology available, the art of the “presentation” is not as good as it used to be. They need to be researched, practiced, smooth, and to answer all questions that the potential customer has, all without out appearing forced, canned, fake, contrived or pressuring to the customer. It is a real art. Do not scratch them down on some blank piece of paper. Make it look good. Here’s a tip. Make it look good with a bound document. Here’s a better old-school tip. Put that presentation in a nice customized presentation folder (for your business), complete with the quotation, any supporting documentation, your business card (the things we used before e-mails and e-cards), and include a flyer about your business, your products and services, and even other products your potential customer might be interested in. Go over the quote with the customer, answer their questions, mention the other documents, and actually close the deal. Provide true service even in the quotation. Help the customer know the full value that your business offers. Yes, it can be time-consuming and expensive to prepare these. No matter how your business operates, it will always cost more to obtain a new customer than to retain them. This is all about your business image and now is the time to show your potential customer that you are the right person and business for them. Set yourself apart and perfect your presentation skills. Be professional, and ask for the sale!

Of course, invoices (and statements) should be correct and reflect the agreed-to terms and conditions, but they should also look clean and professional, reflecting on your brand you have been working on. If they are mailed, take the opportunity to put in an envelope “insert” that educates and cross-sells the customer. You are already sending the invoice/statement. Use it as an opportunity to educate your customers about other products and services that may be available to them. Be sure they include contact information for live people that can help them resolve any issues.

Final tip. Don’t use poorly-photocopied materials as your marketing materials.

All of this represents your business. It’s all about business image.

Your Business Products and Services

Be sure that you put all of your products and services forward to your potential customers in the best light possible. If you have done all these other things perfectly and then your customers have trouble identifying what your products and services are, or your photography or promotional materials don’t present them clearly, described fully, and priced correctly, then you haven’t done your job. You need to make it easy for your potential customers to do business with you.

Promotional Materials

Having discussed all of these things with you, I would be totally remiss of my duties if I didn’t let you know that my main job is to help your business with your business image by providing all kinds of promotional materials and even coaching. Do you want to improve your business image? Consider letting me help you with some of these items:

Uniforms (embroidered and screen printed)
- Hats
- Polo Shirts
- Slacks
- Shorts
- T-Shirts
- Custom embroidered items – bags and more!
Printed Materials
- Presentation Folders
- Labels, mailing, die cut, seals and more
- Mugs, tumblers and water bottles
- Shopping bags (plastic and reusable)
- Forms
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Business cards
- Envelope inserts
- Envelopes
- Banners
- A-Frame signs
- Flags
- Pens
- Yard signs
- Other Signage
Laser Engraved Personalized Materials
- Glassware
- Keychains
- Coasters, stone, cork, etc.
- Wood
- Frames
- Patterns
- Leather products
- Puzzles
An endless list of promotional products

Conclusion

I have given you a long list of things to consider. More than likely, you have seen some things that you would like to implement or change about your business. If you would like to talk, I am available. Click Here to contact me and I will be in touch with you by the next business day. Call me at (503) 427-8553. You can always e-mail me at Allen@akorservices.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this.

Sincerely,

Allen Beck, AKOR Services

You can CLICK HERE to download a FREE .PDF CHECKLIST of things to help you self-evaluate your business. You can develop your own plan for your business.

CLICK HERE to view an artificial intelligence (AI) document generated 100% of Google Bard on this same topic. I did this when I was considering and researching this article.