Business Tip #3: Creating a First Impression

by Dr Greg Chapman, MBA

Many people when they begin in business unconsciously send out signals that scream “Start-up”. No-one wants to buy from a start-up, because they are unproven. They could disappear at any time without a trace. So people learn to recognise the signals- you have a hotmail account. Your address is a post office box. You have printed your business card on your inkjet printer. You only have a mobile phone number on your business card.

You might think that rectifying all these things will cost you a lot of money. There is some investment, but it is small if you understand that people will run in the opposite direction when they see these signals.

Get a proper domain name. (It will cost you less than $50 to set up a domain name with an email account attached.) Get a virtual office address from the many virtual office providers that are around the country. They will even answer the phone for you with your business name and send messages to your mobile. This gives you a proper street address as well as a landline number for people to call you on. (It’s ok to have your mobile on the card, as long as it is not the only number.) All this is cheaper than you think, with some virtual offices as low as $100 per month depending on the services provided. You can top this off with a simple 1 page template website for a few hundred dollars. Internet printers will also provide you professionally printed business cards from under $100.

You can obviously upgrade as your business grows, but with these low cost steps you no longer scream start-up!

May Your Business Be – As You Plan It!

Dr Greg Chapman

Over to You. What do You Think? Post Your Comments Below.

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is Australia's Leading Advisor on Emerging Businesses and provides Coaching and Consulting advice to Australian Small Business Owners in Marketing & Business Strategies Planning & Systems. He is also the author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success.

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The Australian Small Business Blog

First Impressions always Count

by Richard Gill

Does your branding link your business cards to your letterhead, to your displays and packaging, to your banners and to your Website?

Does each component of the brand come together to give a consistent message no matter what the situation?

If the customer does not connect the dots then how long does it take to loose someone if the branding is not giving the right message?

Consider the message below and then consider the speed with which potential customers make up their minds to connect to or leave your brand in any medium. Studies show Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye. Researchers found that the brain makes decisions in just a 20th of a second of viewing a webpage. They were surprised, as they believed it would take at least 10 times longer to form an opinion. The study, published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology, also suggests that first impressions have a lasting impact.

Speedy conclusions
The Canadian researchers showed volunteers glimpses of websites, lasting for only 50 milliseconds. The volunteers then had to rate the websites in terms of their aesthetic appeal. The researchers found that the speedily formed conclusions closely tallied with opinions of the websites had been made after much longer periods of examination. Gitte Lindgaard, lead researcher, of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, said, "My colleagues believed it would be impossible to really see anything in less than 500 milliseconds, Judgments were being formed almost as quickly as the eye can take in information".

Lasting impressions
The researchers also believe that quickly formed first impressions last because of what is known to psychologists as the "halo effect". If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality will spread to other areas, such as the website's content. Since people like to be right, they will continue to use the website that made a good first impression. This will further confirm that their initial decision was a good one. Gitte Lindgaard warned "unless the first impression is favourable, visitors will be out of your site before they even know that you might be offering more than your competitors".

Richard Gill is the director of The Banner Lady.

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Branding Lesson 6 – How to Package your Brand : Are You Reflecting the Right Image?

by Richard Gill

Branding is your identity in the marketplace, is yours saying what it should? Your organisation image is all about the appearance of your packaging. What is your organisation image saying to the marketplace?

It's important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on the purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to your packaging is when you are in the launch of a "new" brand. If you've already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to the packaging.

How can you package your brand so that it is an integral part of your business and represents a strong identity? Keep in mind that I am not speaking of packaging has only a box that contains a product, but as a vehicle that reflects your organisation's brand and image.

Packaging can be judged and represented by the following common business tools:

• business cards and stationery
• Banners and digital printing
• website
• answering system
• email address

What image are you putting across with these business tools that you use everyday? What are they saying about your organisation? Take a few moments and lets look at each one of these.

What are your business cards and stationery saying? Are they saying we are strong, we are confident, and we can succeed in helping you? Or does it reflect an image that says we are flimsy, our dynamics are minimal, and we will try but we cannot guarantee continuity?

What does your web site say about your organisation? Does it reflect professionalism, clarity, and show them that you respect and care about them? Or does your web site confuse viewers, project an untrustworthy image of your organisation and ultimately drive potential customers away?

What does your answering system and call return policy say about your organisation? Does it say we are here to help, eager for you business and will do what it takes? Or is it putting across the message that you are too busy to cater to new clientele, don't care about their needs, or wish they would just go away?

What does your email address say about your organisation? Does it suggest your role in the organisation, is it easy to remember, and does it something about you and your business? Or does it project a meaningless or generic emptiness? If you are using the email address luckyphil@hotmail.com for your business dealings................it's time to change!!!!!

As you can see all these things speak volumes about your image and they either strengthen or weaken your brand. Your image is all in the packaging. Would potential clients take a second look or is your message getting lost? If you thought these things were not worth the investment or didn't matter, you were wrong. Clients and customers will make assessments of your organisation based on these things and while not always conscious, that customer appraisal says much about your business, your attitude and your priorities.

Australia Top ten Brands (As determined by Interbrand) $ Billions (2005)

1. Telstra $9.3
2. Commonwealth Bank $4
3. Westpac $3.6
4. ANZ $2.9
5. Woolworths $2.5
6. National Australia Bank $2.4
7. Billabong $1.1
8. St George $ 1.0
9. Macquarie Bank $0.83
10. Qantas $0.82

What number are you? What is your brand value??

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own." - Benjamin Disraeli, - British Prime Minister

Richard Gill is the Director of The Banner Lady.

The Australian Small Business Blog