Who Do You Think You Are?
You can tell people all you want about how great you are. That’s not your image. Your image is whether people believe what you say. You can believe in your own mind that you run a professional shop that does quality work and is the best value in town. But if you want customers to believe the same, you’ve got to show them – and in a dozen different ways.
Your image is developed by the marketing pieces in place – online, in print, electronic – as well as through company signage and vehicle wraps. It’s built on the professional way in which someone answers your phone, in the cleanliness of tech uniforms and the polite manner in which customers are treated. All of this is even before you have given an estimate, delivered a service or installed equipment.
As a matter of fact, the first glance prospects will get of your image is often your website homepage. That’s where they’re headed when your SEO strategies pull to your site prospects looking for the contracting services you’re eager to provide. Does your homepage look clean, organized, inviting, trustworthy? Does it convey that you do quality work at a good value – backed up with warranties and guarantees?
Your image in marketing parlance is essentially synonymous with “brand” – which is the set of activities that communicates the characteristics, values and attributes of a company. When someone thinks of your company, this brand or image is the picture that comes to mind.
For marketers, image is paramount. You didn’t join this elite group because you don’t care what your customers think (you just want their money). You recognize that success can’t be separated from image: how your prospects see you tells you whether you get the opportunity to serve.