It’s relatively easy for a business that sells products to measure success. All it really takes is a simple, “How many people are buying our product?” but with business services, it’s more challenging. There are several touchpoints along the way, all of which are critical to success. Read on for more information!
What Does a Successful Logo Look Like?
Let’s start with an example that’s near and dear to us: how can you tell if your logo is successful? Aside from entering a contest to see if it wins an award or asking how clearly it communicates a company’s niche and brand story, there’s no cut and dry way to tell for sure.
In fact, the most common question business services ask their customers, “How did you find us?” doesn’t really get at the core of what’s successful either. Even if you get an answer, it’s typically short and to the point. Someone might say, “I found you on Google Business,” but all that tells you is that you’re on Google Business and they saw you – not about the process.
Success Isn’t a Straight Line
We tend to think singularly when dreaming about success, but the truth is more complicated than that. A logo is important (and more is involved in crafting an effective one than you’d think), but a brand is far more than a logo. Let’s unpack what we believe is the “formula for success,” one piece at a time.
Image + Messaging + Offering + Need = Lead
We were thinking about what – well – leads to a lead at the most basic level, and we discovered images, messaging, offering, and need are what culminates in a lead.
Let’s break these elements down:
- This includes the logo, graphics, professional images, videos, etc on your website, advertisement, or any other place where your prospective lead sees your work.
- This includes your tagline, social media posts, blogs, copy on your service pages, website, ads, captions, and more.
- What do you have to offer customers? How do you position yourselves? What is your niche and industry? Are you the least expensive option or the most high quality option? How on point is your customer service? All these blend to create your offering, or your unique value proposition.
- Even if you’re the best dog walking service in town, cat owners won’t be a lead. They may recommend you to someone who does have a dog, but since they don’t need your service, they won’t be using it.
It takes the above (and possibly more) to take a person from being a disinterested observer (or person who doesn’t know your brand) to a lead. In fact, it takes up to 8 touchpoints to get a total stranger to your brand to book a call!
This means that the same customer who said they saw you on Google Business probably learned you were down the street after Googling, then liked your logo and liked your messaging, then clicked on your responsive website and found a helpful article, viewed some testimonials, and decided to book a call.
Lead + Consult + Nurture = Customer
A customer is a lead who’s had a consultation/demo/call and decided they liked what they saw about your company.
A great consultation should include three core elements:
- An expert knows that research is vital to prospecting. You need to get into the DNA of the brand, eking out what’s most important, what language to use and not to use, and what brand images resonate most with the lead.
- One of the best ways to reveal your expertise is to take time to educate your prospective client while you’re asking questions. This usually comes as a natural extension of the discovery process and should naturally flow as you discuss the strategy you’d like to implement.
- Show that you can do what you say you can do. For designers, it’s very easy to produce a current portfolio of your work for the person to browse through and discuss the various challenges and communication that took place.
Often, a lead must be nurtured for some time before they decide to make the jump from “interested” to “customer.” Whether you send a thank you note after the initial consultation or go another route, invite them to keep the conversation going. Ask if they have any specific questions or would like your input.
Depending on the type of business service you are, the nurturing process may be quicker. (For example, if you run an emergency plumbing service, chances are they’re not going to wait until the rest of the house is flooded before they call you to their home for a flooded basement! They may just do a quick price comparison with the other emergency plumbing service, or choose the one who answers the phone first.)
In our experience as designers, however, people take time to think through their options before choosing who to design and print out their flyers or help with their presentation. Even then, it’s not over! If you wish to keep the customer, you must provide excellent customer service and pay attention to what they need on an ongoing basis.
Success = Profit (Not Revenue)
One final thing to keep in mind: no matter how “successful” you are at keeping customers and getting leads, you won’t see success unless you earn a profit. This means that, as tempting as it is, you may need to say no to:
- The latest top-models on your equipments
- The fully-loaded brand-new truck
- Hire more staffs
Millionaires don’t typically have the biggest or fanciest thing on the market – they have older, reliable cars. They know that money can be drained anywhere, so they stay on top of their finances. Here at Matcha Design, we do the same: our business is run in a way that we don’t owe any outstanding debts. One of our success secrets is keeping a tight ship!
Matcha Design: The Key to Business Success
There are several moving parts to finding success in a business. It can be tough to stay on top of them all – but thankfully, you don’t have to! Why not entrust your success to a company that’s been helping clients for decades and remains on the cutting edge of technology and design (as evidenced by an overflowing trophy case and hundreds of satisfied customers)?
We work hard to ensure you have helpful content on our site, so imagine the level of detail-oriented awareness we’ll have for your brand. Contact us today if you’re interested!
Get More Fun Leadership Tips from Matcha Design
Being a great leader isn’t easy. Unfortunately, it seems that there are more dark lords, clone leaders, lazy slobs, and bounty hunters out there than there are wise masters or “damaged” clone leaders. If you saw yourself in some of the more negative leadership styles, there’s still hope! Read our blog and apply our leadership tips, and you’ll be a better leader, even if you’re a dark lord.
