Maybe image is not everything, but it can be huge in your marketing. Unfortunately, its not enough to be an honest person who will deliver what he says he will. People want to deal with established, big companies. It makes them feel they will receive what they ordered and won't be taken advantage of. If you are a one-man operation just starting out, this presents a problem.
Creating a compnay image can be important to your success. When I first started out, almost 20 years ago, it was just me and my wife working out of our home. But I understood the need for image. So when I was asked for a lower price on a large purchase, I would tell them I would have to check with the owner and would get back to them. When someone would call and ask to speak to the owner, I would tell them he was out in the warehouse, which at the time was the garage. This made them think that my company was more than just me.
It also allowed me to negotiate better, because I could always be the good guy and make the "owner" the bad guy, the one who wouldn't lower the price. There were several other things I did to make my company appear larger than it was. But the point is that this is necessary to survive long enough to become the company you are pretending to be.
I have a distributor who sells on the Internet and does about $30,000 a month in sales. He is a one man operation. However, he has created an image of a "family business" with a picture of the family (not his) using a made up family name. He shows a picture of a large warehouse when in reality, he works out of his home and does not stock anything...we do his dropshipping for him. He even uses a voice changer to appear to be a different person when talking to customers. He has a setting on the voice changer for the shipping person, a setting for a sales person and a different setting for technical support. He understands the need for image.
Now in reality, he does have a support team, us, and a warehouse, ours. So, neither he nor our other customers is stretching the truth too far. Because, in reality, they do have a warehouse, and a support team and years of experience. Understand the value of image and don't be afraid to create your own.
About The Author:
Michael Gravette is the owner of www.safetytechnology.com
Wholesaler of Self Defense Products
