No matter what you sell, or who you sell to, there are two words that should be the starting point of your branding.
This is as close to a universal as you’ll find in marketing. We’ve verified it by market research in different industries and areas of the country and these always come out high on the list of what buyers care about.
Friendly and Professional. Professional and Friendly.
1. Friendly: Why would someone want to do business with someone who is unfriendly, cold or impersonal?
They wouldn’t.
You may think that other factors such as price, convenience and product features, trump friendliness. In many cases, if everything about your company and it’s offerings DOESN’T say “friendly”, you’ll never even get to the point of telling your prospect about your prices or what’s special about your product. And you’d be amazed at how often someone will pay more because they liked you.
This isn’t just consumer marketing either. After all, if you are selling to a business, you are really selling to individuals in that company, aren’t you?
By the way: You can’t fake being friendly. If you don’t actually like people, don’t go into business. And don’t hire people who don’t like people. But even if you and all your staff are the friendliest people on Earth, you can still have a website or other marketing that doesn’t communicate it.
2. Professional: Who wants to purchase from an amateur? People want competence, quality, good service, prompt delivery as promised, and so on – everything that differentiates a professional from an amateur.
Whether or not your business is a profession – such as dentist or attorney – your practice or firm can communicate professionalism in every aspect. Or it may not.
Your office decor, the way the phone is answered, the look of your website – every point of contact between you and your prospective customers, clients or patients, either says “professional” or it doesn’t.
Examine your company’s touch points with the public. Do they all communicate that you are friendly and professional? If not, you have work to do.