What Does Your Environment Say About You And Your Business
By: Guy Richards

Even though this is the last issue in our series on mindset, the topic itself is always there because every action we take is born from a thought we had first. What we think comes from how we think. For example, becoming successful starts with thinking you?re going to be successful, which was born from the idea that you can be successful. No one goes into business thinking they?re going to fail.

An interesting twist on this is that in order to be successful, we have to project an image that says we already are successful. This is because each of us wants to do business with someone who?s an expert at what they do. When we?re looking in the yellow pages for a plumber, we?re not thinking ?Now which one of these is the cheapest?? We?re trying to figure out which one is the best.

Our brains are constantly scanning our environment and attempting to make sense of what they see and come into contact with. To do that, the brain compares the new experience to past experiences and makes a judgment call about the new experience. It labels that new experience based on how it compares to the old experience.

Let?s say you go into a store or office and see outdated colors or styles, peeling wallpaper, and nicks in the counter top. Your brain then compares these current images with images it has stored under headings like ?successful business,? ?professional,? ?competent,? and so on. This current experience / environment doesn?t fit under any of those. The brain says to itself, ?This environment falls under ?cheap,? ?rundown,? ?small time,? and other negative words and phrases.

Now, as a business owner or leader, you may be thinking ?I don?t want to waste money on cosmetic appearances. I spend the revenue I get on training, equipment, and pay for my staff.?

That?s all well and good, but your prospects don?t know that and they?re looking at the image you present to them ? through your physical business / office space, your promotional / marketing materials, and even your personal image ? and making value judgments about what they see.

Each of us wants to hire an ?expert? in his or her specialty. Therefore, as business people, we?ve got to present ourselves as experts all the time. We have to look the part of someone who?s at the top of our profession; our marketing materials have to look like they represent someone who?s at the top of his or her profession; and our office has to look like that too.

The best way to get feedback on how you, your business environment, and your staff come across is to survey your existing customers, customers who haven?t dealt with you in a while, and potential customers who fit the profile of your target market. You can also contract with a company who will send ?mystery shoppers? to visit your facility or contact you. They?ll give you feedback on how you, the business, and your staff come across.

This can be scary but it?s better to get the information and make the changes needed rather than wonder why you?re not as successful as you should be.

This leads us to our next three-part series which will talk about the importance of research in brand building and marketing.

?? 2006 Abiah Designs. All rights reserved.? Visit http://www.abiahdesigns.com for additional articles and information on building a brand that resonates with your target market and to view their portfolio."

Abiah Designs is a brand strategy / full-service marketing firm whose unique, proprietary research process creates and revitalizes brands that resonate with their target markets, leads to increased brand awareness, develops strong customer loyalty and improved market share.

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