You'll generally have between 5 and 10 seconds to make an initial impression, then they'll be gone. Either to investigate your opposition or assured that you are people that they can do business with.
That's not long, is it? But people often make decisions based on emotions and not the black and white facts in front of them, particularly in service and product based industries.
Consider this, you are an IT professional who supports Windows, servers, networking, all the usual stuff, how do you best portray your business? Do you list all your abilities and qualifications? Or do you highlight the benefits you can bring to a customer? The latter. It is far better to say you can "quickly resolve" networking problems, than just to say you can deal with them.
The same goes for how your advert, brochure, etc looks. Rather than having an image of the insides of a PC, have an image of a happy business owner working on their laptop, with an intelligent strap line suggesting your great service.
Here are a few straight forward ideas to make your customers, potential or existing, to think positively about you:
1) Keep it simple. Do not overload your materials with a multitude of messages. Focus on your main strengths and highlight them.
2) It all about benefits. People expect you to be able to do certain things. If you are a car mechanic, people expect you to be able to fix cars. Set yourself apart with your home visit service, the free valet, etc.
3) An image is worth many words. We engage directly with imagery, particularly images of people. Eyes draw you in, landscapes transport you, taking the viewer to the place you want them to be and where your product or service is.
4) A few concise words. If it's 1st level marketing literature or advertising, generally people will not read it all. Don't cram it full of text. A bit of professionally written explanatory copy with a call to action, usually to your web site will be enough. At the next level you can tell them all the facts and features.
5) Engage them. This is the most important point. Uninteresting materials suggest an ordinary company. Set yourself apart within your market by being vibrant, attractive, contemporary and fresh. If you are just starting, do it from the word go. If you've got a bit stuffy, it's time to change, people will notice and they will like it.
If you'd like to engage your future and existing customers, call our
marketing and design consultant for a chat on 01908 231401 or email info@travisbead.com
