When you think of any company, even one you don’t necessarily know well, you will instantly have an opinion, or perhaps a feeling about the brand, be it good or bad. Think of Starbucks, or the Nike swoosh; think of Microsoft and Apple; think of Walmart. As you read those names you will instantly have a gut feeling about each company. They have a profile, an image, that in your mind is either negative or positive. Unlike the companies mentioned above, your company may be new, but it’s important to build its image from day one. And if your existing company is suffering from a blah image, the following tips and advice may help you kick its profile up a notch or two.
Never underestimate the power of your public profile to influence everything in your company: employee morale, motivation, retention, recruitment, customer satisfaction, sales, media attention, investor interest, and more. Your public image is based on everything you say and do and on your overall corporate culture and philosophy.
Let me outline some basic strategies that will help your business enjoy the type of respect and loyal following Paychex has enjoyed for forty-eight years from employees, customers, and shareholders.
The name of your company can say a lot about you, so be careful if you are choosing a name for your new company or you plan to undertake a rebranding process. Paychex’s original name was Paymaster, a name we had to change when we became a national company because there was another company with the same name that was already established. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise; almost fifty years later, is there anyone who knows the meaning of the term paymaster? In case you are wondering, a paymaster was the military official who handled paying salaries or wages to military personnel.
Looking back, before I started bringing on partners and franchisees, I was focused entirely on providing payroll services to the Rochester area; given that, it would have been easy to have decided to call my company Rochester Payroll Services, which of course would not have worked nationally.
I’ve seen other entrepreneurs use their name and attach “and Associates,” which I would suggest you avoid. It does not sound as professional as you might think and can appear a little fake. It will not help build your corporate profile, and I for one would never invest in a company using that naming formula.
People often ask me how we came up with the name Paychex. It was simple. I gathered six or seven of my colleagues together, and we wrote names on a blackboard and someone wrote the words Pay and Checks on the board and that evolved into Paychex. What made it a good name was that it fell right in line with the other services we offered, such as 401(k)s and employee handbooks; everything we did centered around the paycheck.
When you are considering what to call yourself, be cognizant of where you think you would like your business to go in the future. Names should have longevity and shouldn’t restrict what services and products you might sell in the future and at what location or locations. I think the name Paychex gives a higher profile and more positive public image than Paychex’s payroll processing competitor ADP, which stands for Automatic Data Processing. A good name is very important to your public profile. Choose wisely.
Employees come and go. Every time a valued employee leaves your company there is a cost in lost production, retraining for the new employee, and an orientation period where the new employee absorbs your corporate culture. Underlying this is the concern that when an employee leaves your employment, they take with them an impression of your company, which they may share with others, and you want to be sure it will be favorable. The best advice I can give you is to treat your employees fairly and never let difficult situations linger; the longer they linger, the more they escalate.
Some business owners fail to recognize the return on investment they can get by having happy employees who believe in, and have pride in, their company.
Acting professionally sounds like obvious advice, but many businesses miss this basic principle. They are so busy with all the other aspects of their business they fail to notice the things that customers see when they walk through their doors or call their company. Your premises need to be tidy, clean, and orderly at all times, even if your clients never visit your offices. If you always appear and act professional, you will be professional, and that will come across in the very essence of your business.
Your employees should present themselves in a positive and professional manner. Their physical appearance and the way they interact with clients is important. Employees at Paychex knew I would notice if they hadn’t shaved or if their desk was messy. It was written in stone that clients were to be treated with respect; any employee interacting with customers knew how they should treat them. These expectations were built into the corporate culture, and therefore the corporate image and profile. Even employees who did not interact with customers were expected to dress and act professionally, and that’s what makes a public image work, when you are not doing it just for the public.
We’ve covered the internal culture that creates your public profile, but what about people who call in by telephone? We talked about first impressions, and sometimes the first impression someone gets about your company is when they call your number. Employees answering the phone should use a set script so there is continuity when customers and inquirers call your company. It should never come across as if it is being read; train people to learn the script and make it natural. Always choose front-desk people with friendly, outgoing personalities who are also highly professional. When customers or prospective customers call your company, you want them to experience your corporate image.
Smaller companies and extremely large companies often use automated answering systems or services. If you go this route, ensure it is user friendly and preferably offers callers the opportunity of talking to a live person.
As a closing thought on acting professionally, instigate a policy of always underpromising and overdelivering; it will stand you in good stead with whomever your company interacts.
If the average person can spread bad news and reviews about your company from one end of the world to the other in a nanosecond via social media, a vendor who has long-overdue, unpaid invoices can spread the word to your other suppliers. That can damage many important relationships on which you may rely heavily. Always ensure you pay vendors on time and build a reputation of being fair and prompt in all your dealings.
I talked earlier about brand image and how people make immediate assumptions based on what they see and even what they feel about a company. The same is true when you hand someone your business card, or they receive a letter from you. If your card is poorly designed and printed on thin card stock and your logo is amateurish, what does that say about you and your company?
Your website can be the first thing people see when searching for your company, so again, it needs to be professionally designed and kept up to date. If your company uses brochures, flyers, and other promotional material or produces reports, they all need to not only look professional but also be written in proficient English. My advice is to use professional designers and writers—they earn their money.
Social media is important to every business; an unsatisfied customer can post a detrimental review on any number of sites, and in a blink of an eye it can be read by thousands. Monitoring social media sites frequented by your customer base should be a responsibility of someone in your company, potentially a full-time job, depending on your size.
Your website needs to be professional, easy to navigate, useful to clients, and constantly kept up to date. I know I’m in danger of citing the obvious, but no one looks up your number in a phone book anymore.
Advertising your product or company in newspapers can be expensive, but you can cost-effectively build your profile locally by announcing corporate milestones and senior management appointments and promotions. This strategy can regularly keep your company front and center in the eyes of your community.
The best advertising comes from satisfied customers. I mentioned in a previous chapter how we marketed Paychex’s services by approaching accountants and encouraging them to recommend us to their clients. Third-party referencing will raise your company’s profile and also establish a high degree of credibility. Approach satisfied customers and ask for testimonials and leads to other sales prospects.
How do you deal with media during difficult times? My immediate response is never argue with anyone who buys ink by the barrel. In all seriousness, it’s always best to avoid disputes whenever possible. If something happens in your business that detrimentally affects your customers or results in some other scandal, you need to immediately own your shortcomings. The key is to quickly come up with a plan of action that will rectify the issues those affected suffered.
Think about the way car manufacturers announce recalls. They try to get out ahead of the problem by providing a plan to literally fix the problem no matter the cost. There may be some short-term pain for car owners, but once the issue is fixed at no cost to them, they are usually placated.
Denying a serious issue, if one occurs, can end up being worse for your public profile and image. It’s not the problem that is the main concern; it’s how you respond to it. Transparency can help mitigate the hit your corporate image might take.
The best people to promote your corporate image are you and your senior management staff. Networking at local events hosted by business associations or other organizations, including nonprofits, offers an opportunity to promote your company and build its image in the community.
I will warn you, however, to be careful of any time commitments you make to not-for-profit organizations; they have a habit of absorbing as much of your time as you allow them to, and then some. One strategy some business owners employ is to involve their spouses in charitable work on behalf of the company.
I would advise you not to become involved with local, state, or federal politics through your business. This is a sweeping statement, and a lot depends on your specific business and your industry. In some cases, some level of involvement may be unavoidable, but in general be careful about your support of and any financial contributions to politicians, and don’t be pulled into their fights and controversies. A safer approach, in cases where you have little choice, may be to give to multiple political organizations or candidates, to show support to the democratic process and thus achieve corporate exposure.
If your company grows to a point or is already at a point where it can make charitable donations, I suggest you not be totally altruistic with your charitable giving. No matter your motivation for philanthropy, for the sake of your investors, your shareholders, and your own future, I recommend you take advantage of any PR opportunities that are offered or that you can think of.
A word of warning: be careful not to overcommit. Start slowly and build your support as your company can afford the financial outlay.
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The title of my autobiography will be A Good Deal for Everyone, which is also the title of chapter 8 in this book. The phrase encapsulates my entire corporate philosophy, which in turn formed the basis of Paychex’s public profile. Make no mistake: nothing helps you build a positive corporate image better than always being seen to focus on ensuring all your customers, vendors, and employees get a good deal that works for them and, of course, you.
Building a positive public image is important to your company. If you don’t build one, you may discover all too late that a public image has been thrust upon you that is a lot less flattering than one you might have been able to create.