The absolute foundation of your small business is your image. How potential customers and/or customers perceive your business sets the stage for how your product or service is recognized and ultimately judged. Image is everything and it will affect your business positively or negatively.
What do you want people to think when they see your image? When they see your logo, business card, brochure, or website, what will they think? Cheap? Expensive? Professional? Successful? Expert? Amateur? Failure?
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for six years or six days, failing to recognize how important your image is and how much people will judge you based on that image is a big mistake. It’s a mistake that will have a lasting impact on the long-term success of your small business.
People’s perception tends to become their reality. How much do you charge? Is your product or service the best? Would people be crazy not to do business with you? Are you the most experienced and qualified professional in your industry?
Does your image convey this? Does he say, “we’re the best and we pay attention to detail…” or does he say “we’re the cheapest in town and we just fix things at the last minute”? Does your image convey your professionalism and experience? Or do you say, “we don’t stand out, we’re just like everyone else, we’re a commodity to be overlooked”?
I meet small businesses on a daily basis, who pay absolutely no attention to what their image says. You’ve seen them too… they created a font with some clip art pulled from the internet and called it a logo. Your brochure is printed with an inkjet printer on inexpensive paper templates purchased at Office Depot®. Their website was put together in one night and has six different fonts and twelve different colors.
Essentially, what these companies are saying with their image is, “We don’t care, we’re tightwads, we’re hobbyists, we’re not as professional as we claim.” Is this really what they want to convey? Probably not, but ignoring the importance of image is a recipe for misunderstanding your small business.
The image can make you look like the best.
Think for a moment about Starbucks®. Its image is one of excellence and maximum quality in the world of coffee. Because of the image it has, we gladly pay $2, $3 and even $4 dollars for a coffee when we could go to the street, somewhere else and pay much less for the same thing. But, the image of Starbucks® says: “It’s worth the price, we are the best.” Starbucks® has added to the success of its business by developing a professional, successful and quality image.
The image can make you look vulgar, even if you don’t want to look that way.
I recently spoke with the owner of a small venture capital firm. His business is small, but he works with very large companies to get them millions of dollars in financing. However, when I checked out his logo, I found it absolutely atrocious. He made it himself by putting together a font and some clip art that came with Microsoft® Word. It might as well have been designed by a three-year-old, because it seemed so elementary.
Why in the world would potential clients trust his firm to handle millions of dollars in hedge funds for them when his image screamed, “we’re cheap”?
Successful companies know and understand the importance of image. If you spend time, effort and money to develop a professional and successful image, your business will be seen as a professional and successful business. If you don’t take the time and just create your image, your business will be seen as a cheap, organized product.
A successful image will help you attract the type of clients you want to work with. You will convey that you are worth your price. You will convey that you are the best in your industry. Plus, it will give your prospects the feeling that they would be crazy not to do business with you.
Your image is what everyone sees. It’s what people think of your small business and it’s one of the most essential elements in a successful business.
Recognize its vital impact on your bottom line.