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Show Me You Care
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April 2011
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One of my first bosses shared this advice with young professionals:
Look in the mirror every morning and ask yourself: If I had to go to the CEO's office today, would I be comfortable wearing what I have on? If not, change your clothes.
Even in this era of casual everything, most people understand that clothing is a way of communicating professionalism. When someone has the opportunity for a big interview for a new client or job, one of the first things they think is: what will I wear?
That first impression is, in marketing terms, a brand touch point. Like any good relationship, you have to keep the sizzle going even in the mundane. But there are brand touch points throughout the relationship, not just when you're trying to woo someone. Let them know you really care at touch points throughout the relationship, lest some other suitor (or vendor) woo them away.
But there are brand touch points throughout the relationship, not just when you're trying to woo someone.
Along with my colleagues at Double Vision Design, we'll run a touch point audit to make sure you're branding at every opportunity. Brand touch points are a topic we explore at length in the re:LAUNCH workshop also. The next one is coming up June 23 and 24. In the meantime, here are a few touchpoints you may not have considered.
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Money talks, and that's why your invoicing, billing and payment processes are all brand touch points. Or, as a client said recently: Fast money makes fast friends.
People like it when money moves. This applies whether you're vendor or client. If you're a vendor, slow invoicing says your business isn't really in order. If you're the client, slow pay says the same thing.
Since every contact should be a source of referrals, you want to be sure to always send the right message, both literally and figuratively.
Every quote, proposal, contract or invoice should be handled in a way that demonstrates your brand - from checks and invoices with company logos to professional conversations about budgets and billings.
Even these most mundane touch points are a chance to share a little sizzle.
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We need to talk. Not just to express ourselves, but also to communicate quickly and clearly. And sometimes, confidentially (you do know email is not confidential, right?).
There are times when voice-to-voice is the best option. So please give us that option. If you're in business you need a phone number. Period.
If you're in any kind of client service business or looking for a job, the message you give when you or your voice mail answers the phone is an important one. If I get voice mail, I want to be sure I'm leaving a private message for the person I called. Make me feel good about that by recording a businesslike message with your name in your own voice.
Please don't answer the phone when you're in a meeting, on the soccer field or at the grocery store and expect to have a quality conversation with a prospective employer.
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The medium may be the message, but that doesn't mean you should write an email like you would a text or a tweet.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still think email should be clear, concise and written in complete sentences. It is the business correspondence of our era - not only communication but also documentation.
What do fragmented, abbreviated or, even worse, 20-paragraph long emails say about your brand? Don't make me work to figure out your message, because I won't. I'll just move on to someone else's.
I'm thrilled to be teaching an email workshop this month for an organization that understands the power of words, and knows that words come most often in email.
The workshop starts with the Bridgestone Reply-to-All ad that first ran at the SuperBowl. You can see the extended play version here. The ad was inspired by a real email that went wide, almost sinking the creative director's career, as covered in Fast Company.
He rebounded with a Super Bowl ad. The rest of us might not be so lucky. bluefeet can help you and your team not only avoid mishaps, but also cut through the clutter to connect in a clear powerful way. Find out more.
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Nice suit, high-quality business card with custom logo, well-designed web site, brochure or leave behind. After the initial introductions, we've made it to the dating stage - time to show capabilities.
There, for all to see, beamed through the darkened conference room, is a PowerPoint presentation designed by a novice. And your brand falls down.
As I like to say, there's a reason God made designers. Take it one more step and let a professional do this work for you. Otherwise, the investments you made in everything else could all be for naught.
If you must do it yourself, consider buying some design. SlideShop (http://slideshop.com/) is an affordable antidote to pages of bullets.
SlideShop has creative illustration and clever design for standard tools like charts in bar, org, pie and almost anything you can think of or would need. Think of it like iStock for PowerPoint.
Don't blow it at the point you should be sealing the deal. Invest a little more. It could earn you a lot.
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| Ready to make some changes to your business? |
We'd love to help. But please change your contact list, too. bluefeet is now in the historic Larchmont Village area of Los Angeles.
Same e-mail.
New snail mail and phone:
606 N. Larchmont, Suite 4D
Los Angeles, CA 90004
626.466.3518
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| Copyright (c) 2009 bluefeet. All rights reserved. 606 N. Larchmont Blvd., Suite 4D Los Angeles CA 90004 us |
