This article outlines the points you will need to assess your business operations and your perceived image or “brand” from the outside. Are you currently emerging as an industry leader? Is it spreading even to customers whose trust is hard to earn? Are you losing sales because you’re not ready when they’re ready to buy? Throughout this article, you will also learn the quickest and easiest solutions for any issues related to these points.
The image perceived from the outside
It’s easy to get comfortable with your brand from the inside, but how do you think your brand is perceived from the outside? Can you ask a friend whose opinion you trust? How many social media accounts do you have and are they all well maintained? Does everyone seem to be familiar with each other under the same brand? Do the images, colors, and fonts speak to your ideal customer? These questions identify the answers you need to discover what your current first impression is on your audience.
Beyond that, you need to ask yourself if you’re giving your audience a “clear call to action.” Are you telling them what you have to offer and exactly how they can get it? Do you provide them with a convenient way to shop and/or contact you? You can inject a clear but gentle call to action into your brand banners by including a “do this” message somewhere; big or small, short or long. Make sure your profiles are fully filled out for those who want to get to know you more, and provide them with your contact information somewhere.
These days, if your social media isn’t keeping up, are you in business? As the saying goes “if a tree falls in the forest and no one was around to hear it, did it fall?” If your social media accounts are on silent, your potential customers can’t hear your calls. Consider researching how to create your own social media strategy and schedule your time accordingly. Professionals known as ‘social media managers’ are a great addition to your team. Interview a few and you’ll be surprised what you learn! You can even get a free evaluation or strategy of your practice!
the inner structure
They say that there are only 3 places where companies have problems; They don’t have enough leads, they’re having trouble converting them to buyers, or they don’t have the inventory or manpower to support the conversion rate. We have already learned how to assess the perceived image of our business and there are several ways to reach potential customers. My biggest concern with clients is their internal product and pricing structure. A customer visits your site or social media accounts trying to rate you as a place they’d like to buy from, and if they perceive that your product and service packages are disorganized, they’ll probably never know why your conversion rate is low. Many companies don’t even have a structure, public or internal, so when a customer is ready to buy now, time is of the essence, and if you don’t have prices and a structured offer to send them quickly, you’re going to lose the sale. Nothing kills sales faster than perceived disorganization and the passage of time!
The best pricing models offer 3, 4 or more core products or services at different value levels. Having these varied levels nurtures your relationship with customers by allowing them to do business with you affordably as you earn their trust. This also allows you to cast a larger net and capture customers at the spending level they are comfortable with. Companies today even offer a free product or service at the bottom of their “value ladder” to customers who are unwilling to do business with companies they don’t know. Having a structure like this also makes you extremely comfortable and efficient in selling the product because this piece is already in place. Knowing the cost of your product and that there are multiple levels or services that you can intuitively sell to your customer will immediately and greatly increase your closing rates! Do “market research” to discover pricing models from similar companies.
