SMART MARKETING: Using Your Signs, Uniforms and Trucks

Image is an “all-the-time” area of focus for the successful service business. The good news is that when you are conscious of this reality, it’s relatively easy to stay on top of things. The bad news is that it doesn’t take much to tarnish an image.

In past columns I’ve talked about how our behavior when in front of a customer can make or break a relationship. I’ve also talked about how your documents should reflect a professional appearance and how we should communicate with customers on the phone.

The cliche is that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. The highly competitive environment most pest management professionals find themselves in demand that we not give customers a reason to look elsewhere. When we have a chance to get a customer we need to seize the moment!

SIGNS THAT SAY IT ALL. A few of the physical manifestations of image are signage, employee vehicles and uniforms. They are part and parcel of our industry and they should reflect the type of image necessary to generate trust, confidence and overall appeal in customers or potential customers.

Many of our places of business are on heavily trafficked roads. This presents a branding opportunity in terms of street or building signage. Sometimes there are restrictions, either by the landlord (if you’re renting space) or by the town, city or county that affect what you can do. Within those confines, the suggestion here is to invest in a presentation that includes your name, logo and space, and good taste permitting, a phone number or “tag line.”

The presentation should be consistent with other displays of this information — whether it’s truck decals, marketing communication materials, etc. You should use the same type face, same colors, etc. This helps in branding and it keeps the customer from getting confused.

Most important, the sign or signage should be clean, legible and in good repair. Dirty, illegible or damaged sends wrong messages to people who see it.

MAKE YOUR VEHICLE SING. Your service vehicles should also project a quality image. I realize you can’t wash your vehicle every day (can you??) but you can make sure that there are no dings or dents, no overt dirt and that the cabs and beds are neat and organized.

These are work vehicles so some minor allowances are in order, but nothing major. And if you have signage or decals on your vehicles designed to expose your name, your phone number, your Web address or some other marketing-related information, don’t let this information be presented in a negative manner.

In addition, peeling decals, missing letters or numbers again sends a negative message.

Nothing is more important than your employees’ appearance and the uniform is a key part of this piece of the puzzle. Uniforms are used to create a couple of impressions. The first is one of real or perceived authority. The underlying message in virtually any uniform is trust, confidence and security. The superficial — but equally significant — message is neat, clean and sharp! We all understand that as the day wears on, the uniform loses some of its “starch.”

But hands can always be clean, perspiration can be mopped up and general appearance can be other than unkempt and slovenly. Yes, it’s work, but it’s worth it.

The overriding consideration here is to pay attention to all of the little elements that make up your image. For better or worse, people make judgments based on perceptions and impressions. And when you look better than the next guy, the impression and perception is going to be positive and you’re one foot up on the competition.

The author is senior vice president of Massey-Persons-Brinati Communications, a subsidiary of Massey Services Inc., Maitland, Fla. He can be reached via e-mail at bbrewer@pctonline.com.