What message are you trying to send to your existing and potential clients and is the message they are getting the same message you are trying to send? When you become a business owner you have an obligation to your business, and more importantly yourself, to ensure the messages your business is sending reflect your core values and beliefs.



Core values in business quite often reflect the personal beliefs and values of the business owner. How you utilize those values in your marketing efforts will determine how your potential and existing clients view you and your business. Here are just a few ways you are communicating your values to others:

Business Name:

The first contact others have with you and your business is your business name. When you answer the telephone, meet others in person or send out marketing materials, your name is an essential component of that “introduction”. Having a good solid business name you can stand behind is one of the most important business tools you need to create a thriving business.

Slogans or Taglines:

A slogan or tagline is an extension of your business name and allows you to further define your business. Just as your business name needs to be a name you can stand behind, so must your slogan or tagline. Try to stay away from cutesy taglines unless it is the image you are trying to send to a potential client.

Symbols:

Many people exert great effort and energy when choosing a name that will reflect their personality but forget that the core values that drew them to their name needs to extend into any logos or other symbols they use to parlay that name. Be careful when choosing symbols to ensure they present a consistent and solid ideal. For example having never been to Sue's Restaurant, if Sue uses curving letters that look like calligraphy in her logo a person might conjure up an image of a high class restaurant yet block style letters will conjure up a completely different image of a family type restaurant.

Marketing Campaigns:

Always ensure your values speak through your marketing campaigns. These campaigns include brochures, business cards, Web sites and so on. For many the first contact they have with your company will not be a personal one so your marketing materials need to communicate your message. Have others read your marketing materials and tell you in their own words what your company stands for. Their “synopsis” will reveal whether or not you have “hit the mark” with your marketing materials.

How You Speak:

Many people act professionally on the telephone or in person, but forget they should exude the same professionalism at all times. Remember that what you are saying, whether in forums, blogs, articles or books reflects upon you as much as if you were talking to the person in public. Be careful not to “air your laundry” in public forums or blogs as the Internet allows anyone to see how you handle yourself both professionally and personally. Remember as a business owner you always, always represent your business and not just yourself. It is okay to have an opinion on something, but does that opinion reflect how you want others to see you and your business?

How You Dress and Act in Public gatherings

Not only is speaking an important part of conveying your business to others, but so is how you act and dress. Take once last look in the mirror before leaving for any function to ensure the image looking back at you is the image you want others to see. Also, keep in mind that even if you are not attending a formal function, you are still representing your business even if you are just running to the corner store. How likely are you to run into a client or potential client along the way?

The key to creating a thriving business is ensuring that your business reflects your core values in everything you say and do. Make sure when your business is “talking behind your back” it is saying the things you want it to be saying.