Monday, July 23, 2012

Part II: CONSISTENCY - Logos, Branding, and Service with a Smile



The concept of consistency is an often repeated one for business owners. When a business is in it's beginning stages, most owners develop a name and a logo. This is an essential step to helping the business take those first intial baby steps towards success. According to smallbusiness.com:


"As the company's major graphical representation, a logo anchors a company's brand and becomes the single most visible manifestation of the company within the target market." 
 A logo is not the only important part of consistency, but service also matters when it comes to success of the business. Service includes packaging of the product, employees, and even how owners treat their customers. Many business owners often skip some of these important values, and are unaware of how detrimental it can be to their business! CBS.com reports:





"Being consistent with what you sell seems like an obvious priority, but it's not always the case, again especially with smaller companies. It's not unusual to see avoidable and even sloppy variations in quality, service, packaging and more. "
Let's look at logos and branding a bit more closely.  

Part II: Logo & Branding 


A logo, also called "branding," is very important to a company, because it creates the "face" of the company. Graphical representation provides information that makes our brain skip a few steps in retrieving information about the company. For example, what's your first thought when you see a check mark? What about this check mark:



For many of us, this represents the company Nike, locally owned and run in Portland, Oregon, and the shoes and other sports material it represents. The Nike symbol is stamps on everything they produce, from socks, shoes, to balls, bats, backpacks, and other items. But it also sparks an emotional response for those that see it: the freedom of a run, the highlight of hitting the ball out of the park on a home run. A logo can be beneficial not only for products and advertising, but also to help the customer obtain a desire to the use the product.


If we switch to a local product, observe this logo:




 For the last 10 years, our community has seen this logo on a local shack that has gained popularity for it's pulled meats and homemade sausages. A few years ago, this logo was displayed on their new restaurant. To everyone that favorites Wubba's, when they drive down S. 6th, they not only see a BBQ diner, but salivate at the thought of pulled pork, ribs, sausage, a French Dip, or a fresh mixed margarita.  Wubba's might not illicit this type of response without their consistant branding of their large red and yellow sign! (Check out their mouth watering menu here: www.wubbsbbqshack.com)


As logos are an essential part of business, the lack of consistency in the logo can often kill a business. Plain text or signs that lack appropriate colors can often make the business unattractive to customers. For example, if you were driving down the road and saw a sign for an Italian restaurant, and the colors were red, green, and white, you associate those colors (of the Italian flag) with Italian food. But, if the sign was pink, blue, and yellow, you might wonder just what kind of food they served. 


This applies to not only restaurants, but also professional offices. Imagine what our world would be like if realtors, instead of basic house-shapes on their sign, used a pizza clip art. How inclined would you be to trust them with your future house? Would you go to a doctor who had a soda on their sign for a logo? Keep your logo and branding in mind when you create one. And spread the love - put it on your sign, your business cards, your letterheads, and your envelopes. Consistency is key!


Consistent Service With A Smile!


No one likes to see a grumpy-puss behind the desk or counter of your favorite business. We have all seen that "one person" who obviously didn't want to come into work today! (And for some reason, these people often work in the medical field!) There's nothing less welcoming than the dreaded trip to the dentist, and the receptionist is scowling, and frowns at you while you fill out your paperwork. Feeling anxious yet? She's about to make you feel more uncomfortable! Have you ever gone to McDonalds and the person taking your order was less than thrilled about it? It's not a surprise that you get the Mcchicken when you ordered the Big Mac!

As a business owner, whether you run a busy medical office, a restaurant, or a product center, it's important to keep and eye out for your consistent service. Be the business owner that motivates your employees to treat your customers right, and every time they greet the customers. If you aren't aware of what your front desk and counter is doing, the reputation of your business could be at risk. In a small town, reputation  can be the difference between keeping your doors open!

(On the flip side, be the consumer that understand bad things happen to good people! Sometimes the grumpy waitress ran late and is worried about their sick kids at home. Leave and extra tip and a clean dining area, and watch her frown turn upside down!)

Keep in mind that consistency doesn't have boring, or make your employees unhappy. Think of consistency as a map to success for your business. CBS says it best:
"Put to best use, [consistency] is a road map for each area of your business, but it's a road with very wide shoulders. It is possible -- and desirable -- to be extremely consistent without stifling creativity, discouraging individuality, or eliminating personal judgment and responsibility. Consistency and flexibility are not mutually exclusive; a band can perform the same song a hundred different ways while staying true to the distinctive sound that its fans expect."
 You may be the only band in town, or you may be a band among many. What makes you unique and stand out? Your connections, your consistency, or your concepts?


Check back next week for our continuing discussion on concepts and what sets your business apart from everyone else!




For more info, see these articles we found:





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