You spend a fortune on your advertising and marketing plans–social media, print, maybe even radio and TV to promote your brand and drive customers to your website and facility Advertising and marketing promotions encourage customers to call your business, but if you’re not enhancing your customer’s experience throughout their journey, you’re wasting all that money.
Category: branding
Your customer has a busy day. One of his kids was sick this morning, a tire was flat on the car, work at the office is piled up after a holiday, and the office fridge isn’t working so he had to go out for lunch. On top of all that, he must call your company today and he’s likely to have to spend some time on hold.
What defines customer experience at your company? Many businesses define customer experience, brand identity and recognition from the moment a customer comes within sight of a business location. Physical branding (the look, feel, and experience onsite) follows common sense and easily tested systems, but extending the branding experience to people off-site through your website and telecommunications access often overwhelms business people.
For humans, the sense of hearing provides depth and richness to life. Likely, there are sounds that you experience that evoke a deep emotional response within you. Studies indicate that those who experience hearing loss often suffer from depression because hearing is typically integral to one’s experience of life itself.
If your organization is still living in the days of merely being user friendly, then you probably need to begin a new initiative in marketing and customer service. A user friendly customer service interaction is no longer good enough. Your organization needs to implement an elite overall customer experience from the very tops of corporate leadership, filtering all the way down to the fast-paced and demanding front lines, where your highly trained personnel interact with clients on a daily basis. Here are three tips to make sure your organization is putting its best customer experience foot forward:
Breaking down the Perfect Profile Photo 
Getting face to face sure has changed in the age of social networking. Whether you entered social networks with a purpose or you sort of found yourself there serendipitously, it’s pretty clear by now your profile picture is being judged. Whether we like it or not, our profile picture quality reflects the quality of our work. Take control of those first impressions and make sure your photo is projecting the right image about you and your brand. Having a perfect profile photo can put your viewers at ease and increase engagement.
Before we break down how to take a quality photo, the most important aspect of your profile picture is to understand its intent. Consider the network you’re sharing it on and how you wish to be perceived there. It may seem obvious that your LinkedIn photo should be more professional than a Facebook photo, but what if you use Facebook for business? How authentic do you really want to be? If you’re in a creative field, you may have more latitude when it comes to being original with your photo, but in the end it reflects who you are.
The Basics
A profile picture should feature “YOU”. Avoid group shots or awkwardly cropped photos which have extraneous arms or objects spilling out of frame. Keep it professional. You may have rocked that outfit on Thanksgiving, but the red solo cup is not helping. And don’t even THINK about taking a selfie.
From a technical stand point the most important things to consider are lighting, background and pose.
- Lighting – If you’re not using a professional photographer, natural light should work best to provide enough light while making the image look warm and inviting. The trick here is just the right amount of light. Avoid strong light that will cast harsh shadows. Find a location and shooting angle for the softest light and softest shadows.
- Background – Just because the loading dock has the right light, doesn’t mean anyone wants to see the dumpster in the background. Try to get ample space between you and the background. Something with texture might work well, but remember you should be the focal point.
- Pose – Avoid the sorority “skinny arm” and be sure to angle your body about 45 degrees away from the camera, while keeping your head facing the camera. Try a few different poses and angles to find the one that is the most flattering.
Digital Marketing continued to be on everyone’s todo list in 2013. Check out these 6 popular posts from our blog which cover all your digital marketing from your phone system, to your website, and beyond. They’ll inspire you to complete every item on your marketing agenda.
Adding a professional Message On Hold program to your phone system is an easy way to improve the image of your business. It helps you make a great first impression and helps your customers get valuable sales and service information. Here are 6 ways a professional on hold message can help improve your image:
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