Do you look like your business? Does your business look like you?
A business is judged by its various appearances: appearance of the store, appearance of the web site, appearance of the employees. A less than favourable appearance will create a less than favourable impression on the customer.
A “good looking” appearance encourages a customer to trust that business. A poor appearance makes the customer suspicious.
You look like your business:
Is your business professional in performance, a serious ongoing concern, responsible, trustworthy and respectable? Of course you answered “yes”. Now look at yourself in a mirror. Do you see the same thing?
At a healthcare conference I was at last week, the attendees were from pharmaceutical manufacturers, hospitals and universities. Most of them were in business attire. They looked like their business.
But a corporate videographer shooting the conference was wearing jeans, running shoes, a bright yellow Bart Simpson t-shirt and a big slouchy toque. What does that say about his business?
Your business looks like you:
Are you an organized, capable, credible and confidence-inspiring photographer? Of course you answered “yes”. Now look at your business. Does it reflect those qualities?
Last week, I had to give away a $2,200 photo assignment that I couldn’t do. The first photographer I tried had a dead web site, just a blank page with “Website Expired”. The second photographer had no contact information except for a contact form which didn’t work – some sort of script error.
The third photographer did not return my phone call or e-mail. The fourth photographer’s web site hasn’t changed in four years – a bad sign. The fifth photographer’s web site hadn’t changed in nine years – an even worse sign.
The sixth photographer stated she was a corporate photographer but only had pictures of babies, pregnant women and landscapes. When I got to the seventh photographer’s web site, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to navigate past the home page. The eighth photographer didn’t return my e-mail.
Ideally, both the photographer and their business have the same, or similar, appearance and this meets the expectations of the customer. Any disconnect between the two will cause the customer to have second thoughts.
