"Let me think about it and get back to you"

Is that the answer you get when you present to new business leads?

Do your prospects take a long time to become customers?

Does your business deal in high-value goods or professional services, or depend on personal relationships with customers or clients?

Find out about the Multi-stage Decision-making Process and how you can make it work for you (instead of against you).

Click here to ask for the free White Paper series What's Wrong With My Marketing?

Forget "humble" — your business needs to communicate

It's the Kiwi way. We don't brag. We're humble and self-effacing to the point of anonymity.

We're taught from a young age that "showing off" is an undesirable character trait.

Perhaps that's why the tall-poppy syndrome is alive and thriving throughout our society.

Some people in business translate this into a self-effacing approach to marketing.

Any business which does this risks being eclipsed by less "humble" competitors who don't necessarily offer better products or services.

The reason is simple. If a business does little to spread to potential customers the reputation it already enjoys among existing customers, its growth will be slower than those who do.

There's a message in this for owners and managers operating in a competitive business environment: Forget humble — your business needs to communicate.

Invest in your reputation

Whether you're selling products or services, your business needs to get its message across. Performance on its own is not enough. Your business also needs to achieve recognition.

This means investing in one of the last things we can still count on, a good business reputation. You may scoff at this old-fashioned concept, but a good reputation has a lot of things going for it:

A good reputation attracts customers and pre-sells prospects, saving cold calls and endorsing quality and ability in advance.

A good brand reputation has substantial value. Big corporations spend millions on it.

Businesses which have built sound reputations do better in tough times than their competitors.

But if you're looking for a quick-fix, stop reading now. This approach works, but it requires a big-picture approach and a commitment to establishing a "reputation bank".

In making deposits, you should be guided by a strategic plan. This needs to be focused on your particular situation, based on the following principles:

Visibility

A good reputation is only as effective as the number of people who know about you.

Targeting

Visibility is ineffective if it reaches the wrong people. You need to first determine the most relevant and profitable audiences to receive your message.

Research

If you want to change what potential customers think about your business, you need to find out what they already think.

And why.

Credibility

Next, you need to look for ways to build your business' credibility and ultimately, its reputation. Today's consumers are suspicious. They want to know they are getting their money's worth.

Benefits

You need to make a case for your products or services and show prospective clients and customers "what's in it for me".

These elements are common sense and good business practise, but that doesn't mean that every business has the expertise or experience to make them work.

That's where Shattock Communications can help — an external viewpoint and realistic approach to help with strategy development; specialist skills to create marketing material, research vital perpceptions, or communicate with important audiences.

Let's discuss how we can work together. Please click here to arrange a discussion of your requirements.

Was this article useful?

I love to hear readers' comments.

Please let me know if you found this article useful, or if you have any questions.

Is there a related issue you would like to see discussed?

Please use the Feedback Form to send your comments, questions, or suggestions.