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8 common mistakes that companies make with their corporate image "Every business is judged by its customers within the first few minutes of contact." That first judgement is based 72% on general appearance, 20% on the way words are said and 8% on the words actually said. So regardless of how good your product is, if the image is not right, you've lost your customers from the start. Unfortunately few managers take the time to evaluate their company's corporate image from the viewpoint of the customer. Use this 8 point guide to test all your corporate image material from business cards and brochures to uniforms and signage.
MISTAKE #1 IMAGE DESIGN VIEWED AS A "COST" RATHER THAN AS AN INVESTMENT.Managers often take a short sighted view of their expenditure on logos, business stationery, web-sites and printed material. Instead of commissioning a professional design that will last for 10 or 15 years, they cut their design costs to save money in the short term. A professional logo design will increase in value year after year as it continues to be recognised and remembered by more and more customers. MISTAKE #2. LACK OF CONSISTENCY.If there is a lack of unity in the images and colours used on all promotional material there will be a reduction in overall impact, even if each item has been well designed in itself. If there is no consistency your messages will lack potency. Your stationery set, promotions hand-outs and signage should look like they belong to the same family. This will increase recognisability and convey a sense of purpose and consistency to the public. MISTAKE #3. A LOW STANDARD OF GRAPHIC DESIGN.The logo or other parts of the corporate image may lack the professional touch. Oftentimes a company director commissions a close relative to design a logo. This may be a good short term solution but the logo may look amateurish and cheap. The customer will note this lack of quality in design and it will influence him negatively. MISTAKE #4. A LOW QUALITY PRINT JOBOften a good stationery design can be harmed by printing on a poor quality printing press or cheap paper. Have a close look at your brochures, stickers and other printed material and compare them to your competitor's. The extra 10% spent on a high quality print job will improve look of photographs and text and project a refined image which customers notice. MISTAKE #5. COLOURS THAT CONVEY THE WRONG IMPRESSION.All colours send out a subconscious coded message to the viewer. A walk through the supermarket will reveal that certain primary colours suggest budget value and darker colours suggest quality and higher price. Corporate colours also have their own code which is different from the retail market. A good designer will be able to advise you on the best colours for your industry. MISTAKE #6. PRESS ADS THAT LOOK CHEAP.Most small businesses run display advertising in the local newspaper or trade magazine. If it has been designed for free by the in-house artist at the publication it will probably lack the sophistication of the rest of your promotional material. Money spent on having an ad tailor-made to reflect your company's quality image will translate to higher response rate and a higher perception in your prospect's eyes. MISTAKE #7. USING TYPEFACES THAT ARE OLD FASHIONED OR HARD TO READ.Many logos are designed using a typestyle that symbolises some aspect of a companies product or service. A florist may use a delicate script, or a carpenter may have his name carved out of wood. Unfortunately many of these ideas go out of date quickly and may not appeal to a new generation of clients. Worse still they can be difficult to read. Look at the logos of company's who you admire - more than likely the typestyle they've chosen is fairly simple and classic. MISTAKE #8. THE COMPANY IMAGE HAS NOT BEEN OBJECTIVELY TESTED.Design has a lot to do with taste, style and fashion. Many managers assume that their own idea of good taste is the same as everybody else's. Today's customers are increasingly discerning when it comes to good and bad design. This can be seen in the new generation of magazines, TV shows and consumer items. Companies like Coke and Shell spend millions on ensuring that their products and image appeal to the widest possible audience. Get a few of your customers to honestly rate your business card or shop-front out of ten and you may get a rude shock.
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