I firmly believe that all communication is marketing. From the moment a potential customer sees your business name, the customer begins to evaluate you and your business’ credibility, image, professionalism and reliability. Whether a retail business or a professional service, if your clients or customers come to you, putting your ‘best foot forward’ counts, and the evaluation begins as soon as your customers enter your neighborhood.
Lately I’ve noticed how neglected our public areas look in the Phoenix metro area as well as in the retail areas of towns throughout Arizona. Tree-lined canals and streets exhibit gaping spaces where once majestic Palo Verdes, Palo Breas, Arizona ashes or mesquites offered shade and color to walkers, hikers and bikers. Litter seems to have reproduced itself overnight, and shredded plastic bags clinging to shrubs or trees are not uncommon sights. Every rain or hailstorm inflicts more damage on these street and landscapes. Sadly, revenues funding street and park maintenance are down, thus preventing regular maintenance and replanting. Soon the cost to restore our deteriorating streetscapes and parks will be so high, we might have to be satisfied with just maintaining it at degraded levels. Trees won’t be replanted, new plantings won’t replace tired, uncared for ones, and cracks, pot holes and eroded areas will just be constant eyesores we will get used to seeing.
What does this mean for local business owners? I’ll answer this question tomorrow.
I want a business to have a sense of place. By that, I mean I want a business environment to make its clients feel comfortable and attached to its space. In other words, when a new client drives to a business, he or she immediately feels welcomed. Signage, parking, entryways – all clearly point the visitor to the destination. And then, once the visitor/client opens the door, he/she receives and easily interprets the non-verbal messages the office or store sends out. The visitor opens the door, sighs, and non verbally says: “I’m here. I know where to stand or go and I feel welcomed.” Do most businesses do this? Consider the effects this would have on clients. I think it is worth trying to achieve – a sense of place for every business.
A perceptive business owner needs to take the time to walk into his/her office, store or restaurant and discover firsthand what customers will see, feel, hear and smell. Unfortunately, an owner often finds it hard to be objective and ruthlessly critical about his/her business. But, first impressions are powerful influences and a savvy business owner must create an environment that sincerely and consistently welcomes potential and established customers. Often a good site analysis by an objective observer ends up confirming what a business owner ‘kind of’ knows, but hasn’t been able to pinpoint or address. It is the little things that count because today’s customers are choosing more deliberately and carefully.
How does a Masters in English literature blend with a Masters in Landscape Architecture? I enjoy looking for the subtext in words and places, and once found, I work hard to make sure the messages communicated by the ‘media’ are the ones the sender wants delivered. People often ask me how a ‘place’ of business can communicate. How many times have you pulled into a parking lot and be unable to locate the business you are looking for or the designated parking spaces for it or even the front of the building? What are the messages the business is sending to potential customers? Of course, in Phoenix when temperatures hover around 110, finding a parking space near the entryway or in the shade sends a welcoming signal to customers.
Maybe business owners need to look objectively at their businesses’ exterior elements and decide whether they contribute or detract from a customer’s first impression. A parking facility with shade and clearly designated signage and parking spaces sends a subtle, welcoming message to all customers.
While looking at the past discussion topics on an ethnography forum, I read a contributor’s comment on the power of the story. He then referred his readers to the website Days with My Father, a site that demonstrates how powerfully a story can connect with readers. Even if this site did not have the photographs, its words would still resonate. Once again, the lesson is that carefully chosen meaningful words connect on many levels.
When creating a website, many people overlook an important and obvious element that contributes to their businesses’ credibility – grammatical correctness! I’m amazed at the common errors I see. If a business doesn’t care enough about proofreading its website content, then how likely will it be to attend to the details for a paying customer? But, a website is only one method of communication, and as a wise marketer − Harry Beckwith − said, “All communicating is marketing!”
Communicating depends on a listener and a speaker. Most of the time, communicating consists of two speakers.
