Who is the face of your business?

If I were to ask you what the face of your business is, you might respond by saying that it is perhaps your logo, advertising, brand or website.

Any one of those things could certainly be the most immediately obvious aspects of your business’ image, and they all have the potential to be tools for business growth depending on your overall business objectives.

However, would you agree that you are the face of your business? This would be particularly true if you are the first person that your customers and potential customers have contact with.

As a small business owner you are a major part of the overall image and reputation of your business. Your passion, interest and expertise provide an indication of the customer service and quality of your business.

Imagine if the public face of your business was your satisfied and impressed staff and customers. What effect would this have on your business in terms of attracting new customers and encouraging loyalty from your existing ones?

The reverse is also worth considering. Imagine if the public face of your business was staff and customers who were uninspired, disappointed or even outraged at your business?

That reputation would shout louder than any of your positive marketing tactics and would spread far and fast like a rumour weed. For example, to many the image of BP would be overtaken or greatly influenced by the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill and what has been said about it, rather than BP’s logo, website or advertising.

See your staff and customers as a newsstand that talks about your business. They are the owners of your brand and the broadcasters of your reputation.

You can be certain that your customers, previous clients, staff, associates, competitors and onlookers are talking about your business – behind your back.

Don’t get offended now – this is the highest good for your business, and is powerful when you give them good things to talk about.

In preparation for writing the book The Referral Engine, John Jantsch conducted an informal survey of several thousand small business owners. 63.4% felt that over half their business came by way of positive referrals. According to McKinsey & Company, 90% of consumers consider word-of-mouth as the best source of information about products and services.

So give your staff, customers and potential customers something good to talk about, because they are going to talk anyway – particularly if you surprise them or trigger an emotional and passionate response.

Keep in mind that people don’t get emotional and passionate about ordinary products, a satisfactory result, or a good price. They talk about negative experiences. They also talk about positive things like personal touches, receiving more than was promised, having their expectations exceeded and things that make them feel great about themselves.

The exciting thing is, this is something that small business can beat bigger businesses in, over and over.

Author Bio: Phoebe Netto is the Managing Director of Good Business Consulting, a small business advisory. She is passionate about helping good small businesses grow through retaining their customers and attracting new ones. Having moved into the small business sector from a corporate background, Phoebe understands the dedication and diversity of small business owners. She is experienced and delivers results.
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