Business Image

One of the most important things in a business is a clean image. I started a small business when I was twelve years old and built it up in a very large small business and then franchised the business. I retired at age 40 after setting up franchises in 23 states and four countries. It is an automotive and cleaning franchise. We always believed in image and cleanliness. How can you sell cleaning services when your equipment is ratty looking, it shows a complete disrespect for the customer.

Image and cleanliness were issues brought forth by some of the leaders of Franchising, such as Ray Kroc of McDonalds and Tom Monhan of Dominos Pizza. That tradition in franchising helps build brand loyalty and shows respect and pride in your work. When Fred Smith started Federal Express, now simply Fed Ex, re-named by the customers, he showed respect by insisting that all delivery vans be pressure washed nightly. If you look at the manual for a Starbucks, 1/2 of it is not how to make coffee, it is about customer service, cleanliness and image. Why? Respect for the customers, employees and Brand Name. Obviously many in business do not believe in image and few in Brand Name. You should in your business. So many of our competitors over the years did not, beating them in the market place was easy. Many times the independent mobile detailing outfits or mobile truck washing companies we competed against did not have a name on the vehicle or trailer the used in the business. Many had not even painted their rigs? Any color really. Heck, they could just paint it white with a blue stripe and put Plain Wrap-Pressure Washing. Anything is better than nothing, but image is important to your business too, any business really. Not only does it degrade the entire industry full of reputable practitioners but also it is degrading to the individual business and their customers when a practitioner fails to maintain a proper image.

I was always and still am today obsessed with image and this obsession in business has served me well, you need to think about this and constantly audit your image from the customer's perspective, look around stand out side your store and just stare, what do you see? Do the same for the competition, what are they lacking? Are you lacking the same, can you improve your image? Here is the first page of the first chapter of my company's Confidential Operations Manual. The entire set of manuals at my Company is over 1000 pages, I know because I was so concerned that it be right, I wrote the damn thing myself. It all starts with image:

IMAGE

The single easiest way to increase sales is to look professional. People believe what they see. If you look the part, you get the part. We at franchise headquarters have gone overboard with every detail. If you haven't noticed, everything is a bright shiny yellow. The trucks, flyers, shirts, hoses, vacuum - YELLOW!! The rest is either blue or silver. We are committed to keeping a positive image in the mind of every customer.

As you are probably aware, Wash Guys has never sacrificed its high public image for money. What you may not realize is that a high public image may not cost as much as you are led to believe.

In the service business, image is fifty percent (50%) of your business. The impact you have on your customers, whether it be your appearance, cleanliness of your equipment or style of your classy color brochure, is forever being re-audited. Even if your first impression is great, you can lose it just as fast if you fail to handle simple details.

Here are a few areas that are the cornerstone of your "new image".

•The clothes you wear

•The way you carry yourself

•The equipment you use

•The people you hire

•The advertising you choose

•Phone conversations

•Your work quality

•Cleanliness of your truck

•Your general appearance

•Literature and business cards

Image in Business are so important, especially in the service business or franchise, so when we see competitors in any market who disregard image and still are able to get business, we realize that our company in such a market is an absolute no-brainer. There are many problems in the Mobile Washing Business with the competition and we are cleaning it up, city by city, state by state; both figuratively and literally. Now ask yourself what is you image like? Can you blowout your competition thru superior image? Have you even thought about this recently? Just like Sam Walton, Ray Kroc, Tom Monhan, Michael Dell, Fred Smith and countless others have in their industries. You can seize the lions share of your market if your will continually focus on your company's image. It worked for us as we seized opportunity to bring quality, image, cleanliness and service back the customer who has clearly been forgotten in so many markets in the United States. It is not everyday that a business walks the talk. Are you giving lip service to the image of your business or do you take it seriously, either way and what ever you do; It shows. Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Branding Information:

Related Articles

No Logo? Launching A Business Without a Logo Can Sabotage You
Initial lack of customers and cash flow often causes a small business to put off designing a logo and marketing materials professionally "until [they] got a few clients" or "until [they] get started." Designing their own marketing materials when they launch their business, instead of having them professionally created, will make getting those initial clients more difficult, and may result in a business that will not succeed.
Brand Value Plan - Brand Identity Guru
Developing brand value is critical to every organization and when professionally executed, delivers a clear and measurable competitive advantage to your firm. It does so by helping you establish a positive connection and value-relationship with your customer, which, over time, will build brand equity and increase brand value.
Importance of Branding - Whats in a Name?
Branding is perhaps the most important facet of any business--beyond product, distribution, pricing, or location. A company's brand is its definition in the world, the name that identifies it to itself and the marketplace.
Corporate Internet Branding - Branding Your Business Online
Let me tell you a story about Pete and a pizza. After a long day of fighting uncooperative pipes and fixtures, Pete P.
FTC Reviews The Franchise Rule
After more than a decade since the last attempt to update the 1970's Franchise Rule The Federal Trade Commission is at it again. May I ask why we are looking at reviewing these rules for franchising, where no problems exist? Why we are looking to tighten up ambiguities, which over time have occurred in this sector, when we should be dismantling the over regulations choking the industry? Why we are trying make rules upon rules, where no rules are needed since no problem really exits? Why can't we use the red magic marker approach and start drawing lines thru massive amount meaningless dribble required in these disclosure documents?Let me explain this philosophical thought for a moment.
Brand Boring or Brand Buzz?
I heard an advertisement on the radio the other day that surprised me, not because they were saying anything noteworthy, but because it was so banal. It was a national company's ad.
Adventures in Advertising and the Affect on the Brand Name
Studying various target-marketing techniques and here is a thought. We have been reviewing companies who cross over into many sectors to identify with their potential customers.
The Secrets of Starting Business Successfully
Starting Business Secrets will help you to start your own business successfully. The American Dream is, and always will be, to come up with an idea, start a business and become rich from your own efforts.
Eye On The Pie: Branding From an Investors P.O.V.
When building a business as a brand it's important to avoid a myopic view and consider another important aspect of the business game as well-- investing. After any amount of toil and hard work to create a valuable product, service or company the big game is when you go public-- when money-minded people want more, they want a piece of your brand pie.
Living Your Brand on the Web - Part 1
OK, so you took the plunge and purchased your internet domain. Good for you! Now what? According to Google.
The Top 10 Strategies for the Positioning of Success
Many businesses of today are often driven to compete striclty on price, quality, and features of their products and services. Companies who prosper over the long term don't simply offer the best deals, the best quality, or the most impressive bells and whistles.
A Lesson in Branding from Paris Hilton
I have never been a fan of Paris Hilton.I see her parading around in her odd-looking clothing choices, leading her loyal following of giddy anorexic schoolgirls around by their noses, and I think, "Skank.
Franchisor Policies for Unlicensed or Sold Territories
Franchisors often have issues when they own a brand which has service vehicles; where franchisees wish to operate in non-franchise assigned territories. We had this as a re-occurring issue in our franchise system.
Logo-ize For Instant Identification & Increased Awareness
The task of creating an indelible impact on the memory of your target market is arduous but can be made much easier with a well thought out logo. The word comes from the ancient Greek where it was used in philosophy and theology to mean "the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning.
9 Keys to an Effective Logo
The right logo, with the right characteristics, will boost your visibility, credibility and memorablity - which means more business for you!These characteristics include:Consistency in use of your logo, tagline, materials. Repetition of similar elements, used in the same or similar ways, helps people to remember who you are and what you do.
Brand Extension; Going from Consumer to Commercial
As more and more home pressure washers are sold at leading retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot, Cosco, etc. We are seeing companies offer products in brand line extension to service this niche.
Strategy and Tips for a Successful Logo Design
Visual processing is the most important way for gathering information for all human beings. A good design or graphics work is remembered for ages and that is what drives the multinational companies to spend millions of dollars on developing their logo and other branding material.
7 Branding Secrets: Ready or Not?
Every company has a brand (how people think of them) whether they created it through design or accident. By creating your brand through design, you shape the way you wish your company to be viewed by customers and potential customers.
Trade Journals in Franchising
As many people know Industry Trade Journals in America have gone through a tough time in recent years due to slowing of advertising dollars. In franchising there is no difference.
Intelligent Design comes from Brand & Account Planners
I've been reminded recently, rather forcefully, that not all reality hackers are anti-neoconservatives. Bush endorses teaching 'intelligent design'.