The impression you set for your business, your offices, vehicle, how you advertise, talk or how you dress, really does matter.Where does that impression start?
Your attitude to business is the starting point. Setting the right first impression is where it starts. Keeping that positive, professional impression of you and your business has to be maintained.
What you need to consider.
It doesn't actually matter what kind of business you own. It doesn't matter if your business is working at home, from a computer, digging a garden, selling from a retail outlet, driving a lorry or deliveries in a van. Whatever your trade, setting the right impression matters.
It matters because others will judge you, whether you like it or not. People will judge you and your business on how you present yourself. How you present yourself over the phone or face to face. Potential customers will notice if your van is clean or dirty, if the work clothes you wear are smart, how tidy and organised your shop is or the cleanliness of your office.
People notice these things and will make very swift judgements as to whether they think your business fits with their expectations of your trade or industry.
Now for those Eddie Stobart fans out there, of which there seem to be many. This iconic business started delivering fertilizer and the like, way back in the 1940’s. They still deliver smelly loads and an array of consumables and retail products today. Their founder decided way back then, that there was a need to make the right impression.
So what makes Stobart stand out from other haulage contractors?
Well Stobart are very successful at keeping to the agreed time for their deliveries and doing so with due care and attention for the products they carry. Their drivers are courteous and polite and trained to a high standard. Their lorries stand out from the crowd and are recognised instantly. Their vehicles are well maintained and kept clean inside and out. The pride the staff have for the business shows itself in bucket loads, or should I say lorry loads.
Where to make an impression?
Well it all starts with you. How you present yourself, whether face to face or over the phone is the start. You also need to be thinking positively about your customers. After all, without them you have no business.
So it’s vitally important that you think well of customers, want to do the best job you can for them and give them the right impression of you and your business.
Consider what you would expect from someone in your trade, if they were there to offer you a service. How you would want to be treated? How would you expect them to speak to you? How will they present in what they wear, or what vehicle they use?
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| The right impression makes you credible |
Use the same thinking to decide how to organise and maintain your offices, shop or vehicle. If your office is messy and in disarray, the customer may well think that applies to the way you do business.
If you arrive in a tatty old van with a poorly sign-written business name, then they may wonder if they have Del Boys dodgy dealership, rather than a reputable business person.
Consider the job at hand. Have you estimated it at the right price or given a realistic time frame to get the job done?
Are you considering that this customer will tell people about you when you have done a good job? Because whether they do or don’t, if you get it wrong they definitely will tell people about it. Bad news travels a lot quicker and louder than good news.
Do you want customers to be pleased with your efforts and for you to be proud of your achievements? Because if you do and you can make it happen, then that impression will stick and each and every time you impress a customer with all these things you will surely see the positive results.
Always have in mind the impression you want to share in all you do.
Ensure your business advertises the right impression. Make sure your website is up to date. Make sure it promotes your business in the best light and it is professionally built and correctly coded for search engine optimisation. Ensure it is compatible with mobiles, tablets and computers. If you advertise in magazines, on billboards or posters have your adverts are professional and send the right message. Whatever you do, however you do it, always bear in mind the impression your business is making to the world around you.
Bingham
Blogger for Bath Business Web Ltd
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