As Oscar Wilde once said, “Technique is really personality. That is the reason why the artist cannot teach it, why the pupil cannot learn it, and why the aesthetic critic can understand it. To the great poet, there is only one method of music – his own. To the great painter, there is only one manner of painting – that which he himself employs. The aesthetic critic alone, can appreciate all forms and modes. It is to him that Art makes her appeal.”
Wilde wasn’t referring to companies presenting their image or simply attaining a look that appealed to clients and customers. He was truly explaining that when a person devises a form of art, they are leaving the rest to the viewer or critic.
When a company is made to sell a product or provide a service, they must remember that every marketing action or sales campaign will be engulfed by onlookers who will judge, belittle, and sometimes praise ideas that are naturally born to build on creativity and bloom into success. With the latter, we as either employees or employers must take it upon ourselves to devise a beautiful plan that reaches out with a helping hand to innovate and create new ideas that will appeal to our audience.
Aesthetics
This is where aesthetics come into play and build a company’s image from the ground up based on a group of highly effective factors such that can be implemented in a fashion that is positive and encouraging. Based on our personalities, this is where the seed must be sowed to produce remarkable audience feedback.
- Beginning with the physical approach, a company must operate in a setting that is swollen with positive attitudes and displays an air of belonging. I don’t mean to say that where you reside is a make or break for clients, but it gives them an idea of who you are before they meet you face to face for the first time.
- Next is the creative presentation that bleeds your purpose, being logos, website design, and proper virtual communication.
- Lastly, the most important tools or gears that run the company from the inside out are the personnel or employee distribution and client interaction processes. These factors alone can be some of the most important steps to providing the world with your image and how it will affect the way people critique your mission.
# 1. Foundation Establishment
Most companies don’t stay in one place for too long. Moving around to establish a geographical network can be beneficial to a business so that traveling in your respective sales region isn’t a problem. This doesn’t apply to solely online sales companies, but most of the time it will be important to have the ability to offer your clients a chance to meet the team and get a better understanding of who will be working on their projects or assisting them in some way.
Location
Be sure to be attentive to location since your address will be something that your audience constantly sees and responds to. I currently work for an
Building and Offices
Deciding on a building will be your next step.
- It can as easy as a Google search for a suite that accommodates your business’ needs, or researching based on an overall rating. Get in touch with an executive suite management companies and see what they have available.
- Once you’ve established your building, you’ll want to find something that works for your current or future employee structure. Individual offices will be good for managers that need privacy for phone calls, but don’t forget to find ways to keep everyone together based on communication.
- It’s always a huge benefit to layout desks and computers in a fashion that gives everyone eye view of each other. Not necessarily so that they can see everything that everyone does, but so that they don’t have to walk 15 steps just to check on something or remind someone about a small detail. This differs from company size and really only relates to businesses with 5 to 12 employees.
- Remember that when a client walks in your door, the first they do is judge your company based on the way it is laid out. If they’re immediately greeted by a receptionist, then it will be their first stop. But if it’s an open office, this may give clients the idea that you welcome visitors to see everything that goes on in the work space.
Just like with meeting new people, first impressions can have a lasting impact on a relationship between a business and a client.
Meetings and Displays
Once you’ve figured out how your employees will be viewed, try and figure out how business will be conducted. The easiest way is to have a separate room for meetings, interviews and project proposals. Sometimes clients may prefer you come to them, but if they agree to come to you first, you will want to have a method that can make the meeting as straightforward and productive as possible.
- I recommend installing technical displays to give your clients an idea that you can present information in a complete and precise manner.
- Use this method for online meetings, in person meetings, and for all other presentation needs. Once you’ve designated this approach as your go-to form of communication, clients will feel more comfortable trusting you with projects and all other business interactions.
Technology sells, there’s a reason more and more businesses are adopting new tactics of communication.
Related: 3 Reasons Why Your Workplace Matters
# 2. Creative Display
The most important piece to attracting clients and customers comes from your online presence and paper form of giving people an idea of who you are.
Logo
This begins with the simplest aspect of a company, the logo.
- You may laugh and say, ‘Wow, the logo? Who cares about a logo?’ Well guess what, based on the Business Branding Strategy, it’s one of the first impressions people will see and will have a long term effect on brand recognition.
- Think about Mercedes. Their logo is simple, but people all over the world have recognized the three points inside a circle as a symbol of elegance in the automotive industry for generations.
- Be careful with your decision when designing a logo because once you’ve branded your company, people won’t forget what it represents.
Website
Next step is generating the process of developing a website.
Easily one of the most important benchmarks leading into online reputation, a website can say very little or too much, and can sometimes not even explain exactly what your company does. I’ve seen this a hundred times and always think to myself, why waste all that time and money on a website and not even say what you do?
- This step can be meticulous, but once you’ve devoted the time and energy needed to make an incredible website, you’ll see conversion rates skyrocket and dramatically increase phone calls and web correspondences from customers.
- Be sure to research companies and individuals that offer website design before deciding who will be taking the reins on the project. It may seem like a lot, but it’s proven that a neat and sleek design will make clients want to contact you.
Communications
Once you’ve given some thought to a website, the next thing you’ll probably have to consider is how clients will contact you. Phone and email is the obvious choice and has been for years, but don’t forget about IM (Instant Messaging) and Text messages (Yes, some companies offer clients the chance to text them. This is a new process that is being used by phone or via a computer interface, like IM).
- When a client calls your phone, don’t let a message be the first impression they receive. It’s proven that more conversions occur when a client speaks to an actual person.
- Take the time to make sure your employees are constantly answering incoming calls and not neglecting them when they’re busy with something else. Separate phone extensions based on product or individual services.
- Sometimes it may be easier to implement a directory depending on the business size.
The next communication tool is email. It is highly recommended to use Google products to make this as easy as possible. Setting up a Google company email is very simple, and will give employees a chance to customize the way they use this. There are several other techniques that can be used, but the summary above should give some idea as to where to start.
Related: Good Navigation Means Positive Online Experiences For Your Target Audience
# 3. Personal Interaction
When a company develops a team to carry out their functions, managers must make practical decisions based on who can do what and how they will be doing it.
- Consider how each person will interact within the company, or who will be speaking directly will clients. Someone who has a positive attitude, social personality, and a proper behavior to all situations is the ideal person who should be responding, communicating, and interacting with prospective leads and clients.
- You may choose to designate just one person to handle all of this such as a receptionist, but don’t forget that having multiple people with multiple expertise will give the impression of internal diversity. This is important since not everyone who contacts you may know exactly what they want.
- Negative Reviews and Mentions against your business is becoming one of the leading factors to a decline in annual sales profits. You may not think these important, but it has become common knowledge that consumers base their decisions off other people’s past experiences. If you receive a negative review, don’t freak out. Try and contact the customer and try to solve their problem or understand what went wrong.
When you unveil your company to the world, you will always want the best out of each individual interaction. Build slowly, don’t run head first into new frontiers. Try and understand everything that your business wants to get involved in before you commit.
From choosing your business location, to implementing a website, to hiring and distributing employee responsibilities with clients; all these factors will help you build a positive image with the business world. Displaying your company as a business minded enterprise that understands each facet of the industry will be a good start, but when someone walks away from a service or product that they invested in, they will want to know that they chose the right one.
Customize, design, formulate and be patient with the growth of your business aesthetics. The image itself will develop in time, and can only prosper with positive encouragement and a level headed design plan.
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