Business Image Matters - 5 Golden Rules to attracting the customers you want.

[Ces Loftus]

Many small businesses plough money into a marketing campaign, advertising, SEO or blog sites with the aim of attracting new customers. Some may get the response they were hoping for but particularly in this financial climate, when people are especially cautious of who they spend their money with, others may find they don’t receive a good enough return for their investment.

However, before putting significant sums into marketing to attract new customers, the astute business owner may want to take a step back and consider these questions?

What is the end result I want. Do I want to get my business noticed and be seen as a great bargain, attracting lots of new customers, any customers, I just want more customers?

or . . .

“Do I want to step my business up a level and just attract my ideal high margin customers, those who will value my business, aren’t looking for everything as cheap as possible, are willing to pay good money for it and are happy to recommend me to others?"

Your business image will play a massive part in the quality of client you attract so if you want to seriously influence sales growth with your great business image then maybe it is worth spending time and effort in getting back to basics to make sure you are attracting the customers you want.

An image that . . .

• looks cheaply produced

• puts emphasis on bargain or discount brand triggers

• is not consistent throughout applications

• does not stand out in the market place

• does not give a clear message of benefit to the customer

will just attract customers who . . .

• want everything as cheap as possible

• always want more for their money

• will haggle and be hesitant to spend no matter how good the deal is

• will still shop around for the next cheapest deal regardless of your good offer

So next time you are thinking of investing in something to gain new customers, make sure you attract QUALITY and not just QUANTITY! Business image really does matter and it is remiss to underestimate its power.

A business image . . .

• that looks professional

• portrays your benefit

• is designed to attract and connect with your niche market

• portrays your credibility establishing trust for your business

• uses positive brand triggers to provoke positive action from your target market

will sort the time wasters from your ideal customers and attract those who . .

• will value your business

• will want to pay good money for your product or service

• will trust you and want to keep coming back for more

• will want to recommend you to others

Exploit your credibility and reputation, impress your audience by portraying the tangible benefits you offer them and maximise your advantage in the market place.

Here are 5 Golden Rules to attracting the customers you want.

1) Know your ideal customers and understand their pain and desire.

2) Know and understand how you are the best option for taking away their pain and fulfilling their desire.

3) Identify a clear message that you want to get across to impress and win over your ideal customers.

4) Portray the benefit of your business using colour, font, visual image, slogan and business image
consistency to engage with your ideal customers.

5) Ensure you portray a clear consistent message and positive brand triggers so that your ideal customers will be confident to trust you to deliver an authentic brand experience and will want to buy into your product or service.

If you decide you do want to find out how to improve the influence your business image has on your sales growth but want to either do it yourself or find somewhere cheap to give your brand a makeover then remember this. . .

You often get what you pay for.

Powerful business images are not just a pretty picture. Your business image is part of your business reputation and is surely worth the consideration of an expert in the field.

Think of it this way . . .

Would you invest a massive sum in buying your dream home and then try and do
all your own plumbing and electrics using some rusty old tools borrowed from your neighbours shed?

Maybe you would think it a wise choice to employ an odd job ‘white van man’ to do the plumbing and electrics as he has also offered to do the interior decoration, gardening and laying the new driveway for half the price you can get it anywhere else? It might not be a perfect finish but it would be ‘ok’ and keep costs down.

Most of us don‘t just want ‘ok’ for our dream home. We would look at the bigger picture, think about the end result and add value to our property by hiring a professional in each field. An expert you can trust will undoubtedly cost a little more up front but a badly done job might not only need redoing in the future but may even damage the the property by work being implemented in the wrong way.

The best value and return for your investment often doesn’t come from the cheapest source but as the dream home analogy shows, when you are developing something as important as your business it is just not worth risking having to pay to have the same job done again another year down the line or even damaging your reputation with a negative business image. It is a much wiser choice to seek professional help in the first place.

A powerful business image will soon recoup your investment by positively influencing sales growth.