Building，your，corporate，image（建立你的形象）

　　□Bill and Becky operated a bakery and sandwich shop called Wholegrain Bakery. Customers lined up early each morning to purchase bagels, muffins, croissants, bread, and other goodies, but the bakery’s highly profitable specialty items□outstanding cakes and desserts□didn’t sell very well.

Although they produced great products, Bill and Becky neglected to build the bakery’s image around their premium, high-quality items. Casual customers perceived the shop as an average bakery rather than as a purveyor of top-flight desserts. Why?

First, the owners presented their company as an old-fashioned corner bakery. Their window displays and signage were neat but simple, not conveying an upscale image. Inside, the counters and display cases were filled with an abundance of baked goods, but the high-end desserts were jammed in alongside the breads and rolls. A sign listing the daily specials was handwritten. The staff were neatly dressed but without a uniform appearance.

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7, niv). Unfortunately, if the outward appearance of a business doesn’t clearly communicate a company’s unique strengths, customers may not understand everything the company has to offer. Bill and Becky did a good job of merchandising their everyday items, but they failed to capitalize on the potential of their high-margin desserts.

The first step in building your company’s image is to clearly understand your key competitive advantage in the marketplace, and then to craft your image around that advantage. For example, Wholegrain Bakery had several competitors for bagels and bread, but these other shops couldn’t match the bakery’s array of high-quality dessert items.

When Bill and Becky invested in an image makeover, they began to concentrate on merchandising their upscale dessert items, while still maintaining their inventory of basic baked goods. First, they repainted the exterior of the building and added new signs that replaced the corner bakery image with a more upscale, high-quality feel. Next, they replaced the old tables and chairs with some sharp-looking new furniture. They then rearranged the display cases to more effectively showcase the desserts. To create room, they kept all the extra bread, rolls, and bagels in the back until needed. The result was a sharp increase in the sale of desserts!

Creating an image for your company is only the first step, however; you must also support and maintain your image through your actions. Here’s a key equation to keep in mind: Customer expectations minus the reality they experience equals customer disappointment. Make sure that the image you present to your customers is accurate. When I was shopping for window blinds recently, I was drawn to a local store that advertised, “We beat all prices by 20 percent.” However, the quote I received from this company was the same as from other stores. As a result, the “discount” store lost all credibility with me. Once you have determined what your image should be, you must strive to deliver that image to your customers. Heed the wise words of King Solomon, who wrote, “Put away from you a deceitful mouth” (Proverbs 4:24, nasb).

google_ad_client = "pub-0149582512245117";

/* 250x250, 创建于 08-6-17 */

google_ad_slot = "7907118103";

google_ad_width = 250;

google_ad_height = 250;

//-->

Upscale isn’t necessarily the best image for every business. The point is to make sure that your image accurately reflects your company’s unique strengths. For example, a nearby vacuum repair business that offers great repair service and used vacuums operates out of a small shop cluttered with merchandise, and customers can see the repair staff fixing machines. This folksy setup conveys the company’s signature strengths: reliable repair service and low-cost vacuums. Or consider Sam’s Club and Costco: Their concrete floors and merchandise piled high to the ceiling reinforces the idea that you are getting warehouse-style bargains.

Some business owners mistakenly believe that advertising creates their company’s image. Instead, I believe that a company’s advertising should highlight the image the owners have defined for their business and what they deliver to their customers.

Take a step back. Determine your company’s key advantage in the marketplace. Then determine whether your current image fits that advantage. Are you effectively highlighting your key benefits? If not, identify three steps you can take to hit the mark. If you determine that your operation is out of step with your image, make the commitment to either align your image with your operation, or make changes in your operation to match your image.

　　□比尔和蓓祺开了一家叫全麦面包店的糕饼店。每天早上顾客排队购买|甜圈饼，糕饼，丹麦酥，面包等好东西。但是，店较高利的特殊产品，如精美的蛋糕和甜品却卖不好。

虽然他们生产精美产品，但是比尔和蓓祺没有将面包店的形象建立在高高品质的项目上。一般顾客认为这只是一家普通的面包店，而不是高档甜品的供应者。为什？

□第一，店主展示他们的店面像是个老式的角落面包店。它们视窗的安排和标志虽整齐但太简陋，不能传达高档的形象。店里，柜台和面包架上摆满了各式的面包，但是高档的甜品却挤在面包当中。表列今日特品的标志是用手写的。员工穿著整齐但是没有一致的制服。

“人是看外貌，耶和华是看内心”（撒母耳记上16:7）可惜的是，如果一个商业的外貌不能清楚的表达公司的特长，顾客也许无法了解公司能提供的一切。比尔和蓓祺将平日的产品摆设的不错，却不能善加利用高利的甜品。

建立公司形象的第一步是清楚的了解自己在市场上的优势，然后根据这优势技巧的建立起形象。例如，全麦面包店在圈饼和面包上有一些竞争者，但是没有其他的店比得上它多样和高品质的甜品。

当比尔和蓓祺重新设计店的形象，他们开始专注在高档的甜品摆设，同时保持一般面包类的存货。首先，他们重新粉刷房子的外墙，添加新的招牌表现出高档高品质的形象以取代角落面包店的形象。接著，他们将旧的桌椅换成鲜明的家俱。然重新安排展示架以便有效的称托出甜品。他们把多余的面包， 面包卷，圈饼留在厨房以腾出多余的空间。结果是甜品销售的急速增加！

创造公司形象只是第一步，你必须通过行动支持和维持你的形象。以下是个要紧记在心的重要公式：顾客的预期减掉他们的实际经验等顾客的失望。要确定你呈现给顾客的形象是真实的。我最近在购买窗帘时，被一家当地店的广告吸引“比任何格都便宜俩成”。但是，我所拿到的估和别家店是一样的。因为如此，我对这家所谓‘折扣“店完全不信赖。一旦你决定了你应有的形象，你必须尽力提供顾客对这形象的要求。留心所罗门王的智慧语，他写”你要除掉邪僻的口“（箴言4:24）

google_ad_client = "pub-0149582512245117";

/* 250x250, 创建于 08-6-17 */

google_ad_slot = "7907118103";

google_ad_width = 250;

google_ad_height = 250;

//-->

window.google_render_ad();

高档不见得是所有商业的最好形象。重点是要认你的形象真正的反应出你公司的特长。例如，我家附近的吸尘器修理店，他们提供良好的修理服务和二手，在一个货品杂陈的小店经营，顾客可以看到员工修理器。这样亲切的陈设传达了公司重要的长处：可靠的修理服务和低廉的吸尘器。或者想想看Sam’s Club 和 Costco: 它们的水泥地板和高到天花板的货品，加强了你在批发商买便宜商品的观念。

有些商业经营者误以为广告创造公司的形象。其实，我相信一个公司的广告应该强调是经营者已经定义好能提供给顾客的形象。

退一步想想。决定你公司在市场上的主要势。然后决定是否目前的形象符合你的优势。你是否有效的强调你的优点？如果不是，找出可行的三步骤以便达成目标。如果你认为你的运作方式和你的形象不配合，要下定决心改变，要不是将形象配合运作，就是改变运作以符合形象。

window.google_render_ad();

window.google_render_ad();