Take me seriously

Let’s face it – marketing is about sending signals. Signals to your customers about who you are. What you sell. What you stand for. How long you have been operating. What prices you charge. The list goes on. The answers to these questions are drawn from how you project yourself externally. So what signals do consumers pay attention to? How do you send the right message?

Let me give you an example. When booking a holiday recently, I explored various activities ( tours) available and whether there would be a need to book in advance. Some companies and options I discovered told me (via their projection) ‘nah, you’ll be right, just rock up with your bathers and $20 and off we’ll go’. Others said ‘we’re flat out – people lining up outside the door – better call us now’. And there’s no guess which one I went for.

But what signals told me these things?

For one, a website. If a company doesn’t have a website – a professionally designed website – these days, I can’t take them seriously. Putting it plainly, I just can’t trust them. There is nothing to go by and nothing to compare
them to.

What about a logo? Again, if a company can’t invest a little money in a professionally designed logo, I find myself doubting their other abilities – how much can they possibly invest in training, safety, facilities etc?

And there’s advertising – when you rifle through a magazine or directory of any sort, would you be more likely to contact the company with the double page spread at the front or the one with the quarter page on page 100? I know where I’d be starting.

Let’s look at the most simplest example of all – Google searches. Who ever makes it past the 5th listing? After that it’s usually a waste of time.

So here’s just a few examples of signals that speak volumes to customers. If you can’t invest in proper marketing – then how can you send the message that you also invest in staff training, safety measures, proper facilities etc. The trust is diminished if not depleted entirely and the customer walks away.