National Clothesline

Not long ago a local drycleaner asked if I would meet him at his plant to discuss a marketing program.

I arrived before he did and while standing in his call area I observed his operation the way a customer might. In short, the place was a mess.

The floor needed vacuuming, the counters were cluttered, there was a torn and faded poster on the window and the attendant was dressed in faded jeans and a golf shirt that was way too large and not tucked in. When my host arrived, he didn’t look any better.

Projection is nine-tenths of success and to get business one must project an image that attracts potential customers rather than repels them.

Most cleaners know this, and go to great lengths to make sure that they're professionally groomed and dressed.

But a business image isn't just defined by your personal presence alone but also by your surroundings. It's important that you make sure all your trappings look polished and professional, too, and that you are projecting a business image that shows your potential customers that you're worthy of their trust and, ultimately, their business.

For example, have you ever seen a realtor driving an old, dirty car? Looking successful goes hand in hand with being successful and a successful image leads to increased sales.

In the cleaning business, image is everything. The way in which customers view your business sets the stage for how your service is recognized and ultimately judged. The image you project will affect your business either positively or negatively and this applies to other areas of your business as well.

For example, what do people think when they see your logo, business card, brochure or website? What image is conveyed? Cheap? Expensive? Professional? Successful? Expert? Amateur? Failure?

It doesn’t matter if you have been in business six years or six days, the failure to recognize just how important your image is and just how much people will judge you based on that image, is a huge mistake that can have a lasting impact.

People’s perception tends to become their reality. How much do you charge? Do you deliver excellent service? Would people be crazy not to do business with you? Are you an experienced and qualified professional?

Does your image convey this? Does it say, “we are the best and we pay attention to detail?” Or does it say “we are the cheapest in town and just throw things together at the last minute?”

Does your image convey your professionalism and expertise? Or, does it say, “there’s nothing special about us… we are just like everyone else?”

Unfortunately a large percentage of drycleaners have no idea what their image is saying.

They throw together a font with some clip art ripped from the Internet and call it a logo. Their brochure is printed with an ink jet printer on cheap paper templates bought at the office supply store.

Their website looks as if it was put together in a single evening… complete with too many fonts and a dozen different colors.

The image they convey says, “We don’t care, we are cheap, we are amateurs, we’re not as professional as we claim to be.” Is this truly what they want to convey? Probably not.

On the other hand, image can make you look like the best.

Take Starbucks for example. Its image is one of excellence and top quality in the world of coffee. People are willing to pay $2, $3 and even $4 dollars for coffee when they could go down the street, somewhere else and pay much less for the same thing. But Starbucks’ image says, “we are worth the price, we are the best.” Starbucks has added to the success of its business by developing a professional, successful and quality image.

Image can make you look cheap, even if you don’t want to look that way.

I recently spoke to an owner of a venture capital firm. His business is small, but he works with very large companies to get them millions of dollars in financing.

His sales material, however, left much to be desired. He had done everything himself using the clip art that comes with Microsoft Word. A grade-schooler may as well have designed it, because it looked that elementary.

Certainly more clients would trust him to handle their millions if his image didn’t say, “I’m so cheap!”

Successful cleaners know and understand the importance of image. If you spend the time, effort and money to develop a professional and successful image, your business will be seen as a professional and successful business. If you don’t take the time and just throw together your image, your business will be seen as thrown together and cheap.

A successful image will help to attract the type of customer you want. And by projecting the image that you are worth the prices you charge, you will also give your customer the confidence that you are the best in the industry.