Curb Appeal; and What It Can Mean for Your Business

Your company’s curb appeal, or image, can have a profound effect on your business today and in the future. It can be the difference between having a 60% new sale close rate and a 20% close rate. It can mean your business being attractive to qualified buyers when it is time to sell the business, or not being attractive to the most qualified buyers. Curb appeal has to have substance, not just fluff. Fluff may fool some, but not for long.

What are some of the more subtle contributors to image?

1. Follow through with promises made, whether it is correcting a customer noted deficiency, or following the specifications for which the company was hired to perform.
2. Awareness that your customers’ reputation and image can affect your company image is important. If a customer has had a change of contractors frequently and is known as selecting low-ball bids only, that image can rub off. The chances are that your company will join the list of those that have lost the contract, which will add nothing to your image as a quality service provider.
3. Company employees, whether production labor, supervision or management, are vital to a good company image. Your company is judged by their attitude, appearance and how well they do their job. It is not only grooming and dress, but attitude and professional presence matter too. These characteristics reflect not only employee selection standards, but training too.
4. Appropriate advertising and press recognition can be image builders too, but there can be a danger if it is overdone. Paid advertising especially should be dignified, while still providing the viewer a sense of value. Well placed business articles can be informative and, over time, help to build image.
5. Shape your company to achieve the business and personal goals that are desired, whether it be choosing the market sector in which you concentrate, the market areas in which you work or the financial stability that will provide stability as time progresses.

These subtle image contributors, plus more, do have an impact on company image. To whom does it matter?

Your competitors: it’s much better to enjoy a good reputation among your competitors. Word travels, so if your reputation is good and built on a solid foundation, it will be much more difficult for anyone to cast negative aspersions.

Your customers: A satisfied customer’s comments can travel, not only to others in building management circles, but perhaps to other locations in that customer’s company.

Your employees: Internal morale is important. It’s much more fun and satisfying to be part of a group that has a good reputation. Being known as a good and fair employer is good for business and image.

There are other important image builders too that, while important, may be less effective without the subtle image contributors mentioned above. It really takes both the subtle and more visual attributes to complete the image effort. The more visual image builders are the obvious, but without substance to support them, they’ll be nothing more than fluff.

The Visual Contributors to Image

1. Office space should be functional, well decorated, uncluttered, reflecting a professional office atmosphere. It does not need to be grandiose; rather, it should be well appointed in a tasteful, appropriate way.
2. Company vehicles should follow the points mentioned for office space. Vehicles need to be clean and well maintained. Vehicles for management and shareholder management support a good image if they are appropriate for their function and not grandiose.
3. Company uniforms need to be clean, in good repair, but not worn outside of work during off hours.
4. Company logos should reflect the professionalism of a company that wants to be recognized as being professional.

Building image for a company takes a long time and has to weather the ups and downs that any company will encounter along the way. If a company operates well and follows some appropriate image guidelines along the way, the image will probably be good enough to withstand all of the things that can tarnish an image. Image does influence.

Gary Penrod, CBSE