It’s interesting to see how the public perceptions of certain businesses can change over time. For instance, it’s easy to think two quite opposed ways about one of the biggest children’s animation brands on the planet. To start with, most of us have either had many warm memories in our childhood thanks to this brand, or our children have appreciated the fairytale magic offered by themselves.
Yet we also know that this brand is highly litigious and that the working conditions of their theme parks have been noted as extraordinarily difficult, with low pay, despite how beautiful and enjoyable they are to visit. As such, many people hold something of a nuanced view of such a company, despite the value they offer.
While international brands like this might be able to weather that storm, smaller companies can’t. It’s important, then to make sure you understand how to cultivate that positive customer regard.
Transparency
Customers tend to love it when they feel they’re respected, and appreciated enough to be told the truth. For instance, when companies come out and carefully discuss an issue they’ve been experiencing, how it might have affected consumers, and what steps they’re taking next – this can be a great way to damage control and to provide some goodwill at the end of a difficult situation.
Transparency also relates to being proud of who supplies your inventory so that you can make the product or streamline the service. It might be celebrating your community, or directing your messaging clearly about upcoming promotions. Great communication helps customers understand and interface with your firm more reliably, and that kind of fortitude grows respect.
Listening To Feedback
Of course, clients or consumer should never dictate your business decisions, but they can be a tremendous resource of understanding how your service or product came across, how your brand operates in their lives, and more. For instance – imagine that a client seems to be aggravated with the service they’ve received, despite you doing everything in your power to give them a normal experience and largely succeeding in your own view.
Is it worth, even if you disagree with them entirely, thinking about how they came to that impression and if you influenced it at all? While that might sound like a terrible strategy for confidence in a relationship, in business it can give you more insight to pull those levers of change or remain assured in your approach. Giving our audience the means to vent in that manner can make all the difference.
Love For The Craft
Your business needs to have love for the craft, be that curating the service it provides or the product it develops. We can tell when car manufacturers have put love into the design of their vehicle, for instance. We can tell when a kitchen enjoys putting together a seasonal menu. We might not have actual technical skills in that field, but we certainly have a feel for how this development has come together, and the inspirational ideals of those behind it.
That’s not to say each product needs to be a masterpiece, rather than your entire company culture, your entire approach to supporting clients, the celebration of your history and the discipline you find yourself in must always conform to appropriate love of the craft. Businesses that exude this don’t have to market their appreciation for their work, because we can see it, night and day. For that reason, then, taking an approach like this and making the most of it is key.
Polish & Testing
This is a supplementary consideration compared to the last point, but it’s no less important. We need to know that the products or services we’re using are rigorously tested and approved of ahead of time. We don’t want to feel like testers of the product we’ve paid full price for.
This goes for software we use, rigorously automation tested by testrigor.com. It goes for the vehicles we drive. It even goes for the minutiae of food we eat, such as ensuring food quality is preserved and that the packaging used to deliver it to us is appropriately measured depending on the needs of the consumer.
In other words, companies achieve respect when they think through all aspects of how their product and service could be used. In an increasingly crucial digital age, it’s not hard to see how this can have such an effect.
With these four approaches, you’ll be sure to develop your small business into one worthy of respect – and if not immediately appreciated, your dignity will hold until you get there.
