What do your customers really think about you?

Let’s be honest, we all judge by appearances to some extent and first impressions are not easily undone. So, when was the last time you tried looking around your offices through your clients’ eyes?

Take a wander into reception and have a look around – no, a proper look around! What can you spot now that you didn’t notice before? Wallpaper slightly peeling by the door, a light switch festooned in grubby fingerprints, out of date journals on the coffee table? Has your company won awards? Are they proudly displayed on the walls or on the desk? And now cast your eyes towards your receptionist.

How many times a week do you walk past your receptionist and perhaps just give them a perfunctory nod or grunt of acknowledgement? Your receptionist is the front line ambassador for your company and if you don’t show that you value them, it can have very serious repercussions. After all, if you felt you weren’t appreciated by your boss, would you feel inclined to make corporate visitors feel especially welcome or to chat to prospective new members of staff to put them at ease?

And, of course, there’s another way that people form impressions of your business – when they telephone you. To hear through your customers’ or suppliers’ ears, try asking a friend to ring you at the office one day. Get them to note how many rings it takes before the call is taken, more than three and it implies indifference or that the call is an intrusion. Listen to the tone of the voice at the end of the line – is it happy, helpful and obliging? Do they get plunged into ‘Holding Music Hell’ as they try to find you and are they kept informed as to the status of the call?

And then, when they get through to the main office, what’s going on in the background? Have they been transferred through to a club in Ibiza or perhaps there’s a very loud voice barking instructions at some unfortunate staff member? And here’s a worrying fact: the vast majority of industrial espionage is carried out via the telephone by listening to background conversations. Scary, isn’t it!

A company can spend literally millions of pounds on giving itself a pristine corporate image with glossy brochures, but this is completely wasted if their staff aren’t a part of the picture and they ignore the finer details.

We always say that PR in its simplest form is communication and that’s what you have to do: talk to your staff and get them involved. And, here’s a really shocking thought, when you walk through the doors on Monday morning, smile at your receptionist!

If you have a public relations, branding or marketing question please contact Colin Caldicott at Ultimedia PR, tel 01767 601470 or email info@ultimediapr.co.uk

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