How They See You, How They Don’t
Your professional skills may be good, your intelligence may be top-notch, but your image carries you further than what you can do. Your intelligence should show not only be in abilities but in the way you carry yourself and speak.
According to the Macmillan Dictionary, public image refers to the ideas and opinions that the public has about a person or an organization that may not be what they are really like. It is necessary to have a good image so that people see you for who you are and patronize your services.
There are some factors which can boost your image.
Customer service. The customer judges the seriousness of the business from the way they are treated the first time, and on subsequent occasions. If your product is top-notch but your service is below-standard, they will start looking somewhere else.
Interior decor and hygiene. The appearance of a place gives an impression the client carries away. Clean, pleasant surroundings hint that the business is as organized as it appears physically. Odors and messes will put many people off, affecting sales. An appealing environment however will attract masses, even if they are just coming to look around and admire.
Advertisement. Let the people know who you are and what you do as clearly as possible and in an attractive way. Not only word-of-mouth will spread your business; put it out there on print, electronic and social media.
Don’t be fake. Be real. putting on false pretenses tend to put people off once they find out who you really are. Don’t lie to sell your service, let your service sell you.
Practice what you preach. A person who claims he holds certain values and yet does otherwise only raises onlookers’ eyebrows, not their thumbs. The same goes for a business, don’t promise consumers quality and instead give them something shabby.
Help around. There’s a pleasant feeling that comes to a customer when the staff do their best to help him out without asking for it, especially when it’s a high-ranking personnel. Assist customers and other staff in whatever way you can. It goes a long way.
Dressing. No one takes a shabbily dressed person seriously. Though it’s best to look formal, we really can’t expect a man in a suit to serve us at a fast food joint. Fit the occasion and situation.
Speech. Be polite to everyone. A rude businessperson sends bad vibes about himself. Speak in a cultured manner without sounding rash or absent-minded. Pay full attention to the one in front of you. Excuse yourself if you have to attend to your cell phone. Have an aura of self-confidence. It speaks volumes.
The way your clients see you is an advertisement for your business. Either you make it a good one or a bad one. The outcome is your decision.
What happens if you offer bad service?
Upsetting one client is equivalent to upsetting all friends of the client. They will definitely tell others how they found your service, and this is a lot of clientele lost. One lost client could have brought you more. A consistent loss of clients often has an exponential effect.
Your competition will get an upper hand. If competitors offer clients a more pleasant welcome, they won’t come back to you. The customer goes where he feels like royalty, not a profit-giver.
You lose money trying to get a client to replace the one you lost. Apart from the cash inflow you lose from one customer storming out never to return, you lose time and energy in efforts to find a new client to substitute the lost one.
There is no trust in the company. A business which has a bad public image is not trusted by patrons. They slowly begin to pull out, and soon the business will crash.
How you see yourself is how others see you. Having a negative self-image leads others to have the same opinion of you. What you do to yourself is what they’ll do to you. Build a positive self image now instead of spending lots of money and time to repair a broken one.
