Perfect Presentation - The best method to generate retention, recognition, and respect among your potential customers.
This document discusses the importance of presenting your business properly in order to compel potential customers to remember and embrace your company.
It's all about presentation.
When I was in elementary school, I submitted one of my book reports on ripped-out, loose-leaf paper, complete with 10-year-old, chicken-scratch handwriting, eraser marks, and dirty thumbprints. I read the book thoroughly, my submission was contextually perfect, but I only garnered a C on that assignment!
When my next book report came due, I spent several days perfecting it by typing the report on professional paper, making sure there were no inadvertent smudge marks, and even preparing it inside a glossy folder. Interestingly enough, I got an A+ on that report, winning accolades from my teacher in addition.
To be honest, I hardly spent the same amount of effort reading the second book as I did the first. But the time I invested in perfecting the report's presentation gave me the competitive advantage I needed to earn the top grade.
We all know that 8-year-olds are hardly "competitors" in terms of how the word may apply to your business today, but the metaphor is extremely important to your interests. As a consumer, the teacher has to evaluate the performance of all of her vendors, the students. And while the vendors aren't necessarily competing against each other, they are certainly being graded against a similar scale. Conveying a sense of dedication and work ethic that nobody else exhibits allows for work to stand out among the rest.
The same thing applies to your company. You've spent a great deal of time and money taking the risk of starting a business, and it's absolutely imperative that you present your company in a manner that communicates the exact same qualities that led you to starting your business... professionalism, dedication, commitment... the list goes on and on.
Proper presentation sets you apart from others.
Entrepreneurs like you are very smart, often spending a great deal of time advancing their education in and out of the classroom. By definition, entrepreneurs are risk-takers, having to make critical decisions on a daily basis. But in the midst of all of these critical decisions, sometimes the most essential needs are overlooked, most notably, those relating to the presentation of your business.
You probably have business cards for your company, right? Business cards are the primary form of marketing for your company: everybody's got them, most everybody likes getting them, they're cheap to produce, they're cheap to replenish. But how much time did you invest in the design and production of your business cards? Because they are such a common piece of business collateral, many businesses don't pay a lot of attention to them; rather, they simply go to a printer (Kinkos, even!) and have someone who has no idea what the company stands for slap a clip-art logo on a card, add some contact information, print 5000, and voila! All done!
Is that smart? Think about my book report example for a moment - 90% of the students handed in identical, loose-leaf paper book reports. Only a few of us prepared our reports in glossy binders. Of course some of the loose-leaf papers received A+ grades, but the important point is that ALL of the reports prepared nicely received A+ grades!
Take a look at the following example. Below, I've organized a few of the business cards I've recently acquired. Now, I'm confident that all of these businesses are reputable and professional, but how do their business cards represent that notion? People receive hundreds, if not thousands of business cards in their lives - how will you get your business to stand out from the thousands of others?
Which of these cards stand out to you? Which of these communicates originality and creativity more than the others? With the exception of a few logos here and there, notice how 8 of the 9 cards consist of simply dark text on a light background. That's pretty representative of the bigger picture, isn't it? Doesn't that look like your collection of business cards? In addition, some of these cards have so much information on them, they are completely ridiculous to try and read. Do you enjoy spending time trying to read complex things? Of course not! Neither does anyone else!
Business cards are the cheapest, commonest used form of representing your business to potential customers. Your business is special - shouldn't your business cards, at the very least, communicate that?
Proper presentation leads to credibility.
Credibility makes you money.
If customers don't consider your business as reputable, trustworthy, and above else, legitimate, there's simply no way you're going to earn their business. To address your credibility, you need to invest in resources that will present your company as an expert in its field by communicating your professionalism, legitimacy, and trustworthiness.
In 2001, a study was performed on business websites to determine what qualities customers used to evaluate the business' credibility. Overwhelmingly, participants in the study provided information that was extremely obvious, yet have somehow gone overlooked by many business websites today. The visitors evaluated sites that appear "amateur" very poorly, while giving high marks to sites that "looked professionally designed." Additionally, businesses that exhibit a "real world feel" on their websites and most importantly, create an "easy to use" experience for the customers earned accolades from the participants. If you have a website, how does this study apply to your online presence? Do you have signs of amateurism, like typos and awkward, unprofessional design? When was the last time you conducted a usability study to make sure your customers were able to find pertinent information quickly? Don't tell me you don't even have a website!?
The presentation of your company plays an important role conveying professionalism and quality of service, helping you establish credibility with potential customers who only have your website, your business card, or your direct-mail marketing piece by which to evaluate you; therefore, it's important for you to make sure your company is presented properly at every opportunity you have to touch potential customers.
Summary
Customers are people, and people are superficial; it's just that simple. It's up to you to embrace that fact and compensate for it when you present your company to the world. If your business card looks like every other business card a potential customer receives, what tools have you given that person to "grade" you against all the other cards he's received? If your website is bulky and hard to use, the visitors are going to think your company is bulky and hard to deal with.
There are so many opportunities for you to connect to your potential customers: business cards, website, letterhead, envelopes, direct-mail. I urge you to take the necessary steps to ensure your company establishes credibility by way of presentation when embarking on these initiatives - it's the most essential way to earn an A+ from your potential customers.
Article written by Justin B. Hankins.
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