I believe my saying still holds today- “Perception is 9/10ths of the law. How people perceive us could become their truth."
This means they can have one of three perceptions about your company. They are – Good, Bad, and Ok. And I believe that only one is favorable for you. I would argue that the one that is the worst-case scenario for your organization is “OK”. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be “just OK”. (This will be explained in another post.)
So, how can you make Perception work for your organization and make it favorable and positive, consistently? You need to do two things-
1- Become your Customer or Prospect. I am not sure we do this often enough and we miss a lot because we don’t pay attention to the little details. But your customers do.
2- Then, follow the acronym to the word “LASTS”. This will help everyone in your organization understand what to do to make sure the perception is always positive.
L- How you LOOK- Meaning how do your business and your people LOOK to your customers and prospects (both your physical building and people, as well as your online appearance)? What are the first impressions that someone has of your brand? Clean, polished, detailed…or dirty, not focused, and unorganized?
A- How you ACT- This one ties directly into your staff. How do they show up when they work for your company? What impression are they delivering?
S- How you SPEAK- What words are you using in your marketing? What words do your staff use? And do they speak to your customers in an upbeat tone or a condescending one?
T- What your TACT is- This one is a little tricky, as this one is centered on your people. How do they behave when they are around each other in the organization. Your customers and prospects can sense the tension if the staff is showing poor tact and behavior around them.
S- How you SERVE- We sometimes rush to this one, as we all know how important service is. However, I don’t believe that we can effectively SERVE our customers, if we first don’t know how to Look, Act, and Speak the part. When we do concentrate on the Serve part- how easy are we making it for our customers to do business with us? Do we anticipate their needs as well as personalize the experience for them?
Spend some time on both of these items and I believe that the Perception that your organization gives off will be always one that is remembered…in a good way!
Bob Pacanovsky is a Keynote Speaker and Strategic Trainer
who works with organizations that want to deliver the highest levels of Service Excellence and Hospitality so that they can attract and retain more loyal clients and employees.
To learn more, and to book Bob contact him:
Call (330) 352-6084 or email Bob@BobPacanovsky.com