Present for success. Your brand is more than your logo.

Most importantly, no one was hurt and there were only a few dings. But I needed to get that car fixed very quickly. Why?

I have mentioned in a previous column that your car can be a cost effective way to promote your business. As proof that I practice what I preach here, my car carries a large, portable, advert for my company including logo and contact details.

That is why I needed my car fixed. You wouldn’t put up a dinged billboard or have a chunk missing out of your newspaper advert. That car represents my brand, which I can’t afford to be crumpled and poorly presented.

Your brand is much more than your logo. There are lots of things that occur every day that shape your brand.

In small business, the way that the owner looks and behaves plays a large part in shaping people’s attitudes toward the business. It is important that you act appropriately whenever meeting clients but also on other occasions. Small business people in a small region like the Hunter and constantly on show.

There are positive things you can do in terms of the way you look and act to help reinforce your brand. I am currently rebranding my business to emphasise our expertise in helping people to unlock their passion. So, in future, you will always see me wearing a bit of red. Uniforms or dress codes are one way that you can present the right image for your business.

You can have clever, highly professional and expensive looking marketing materials but you will be wasting your money if the way your phone is answered is not consistent.

Corporations do a lot of training on service and systems to ensure there is no mismatch between the brand they want to have and the one they are delivering. Not having large training budgets doesn’t mean you can’t make a quick list of all the things that reinforce your brand and do a quick check if they are up to scratch. You may not even have to leave your desk.

The way that you present yourself to your clients needs to be spot on, consistently. I have just come back from doing some work in the US. The US food chain Safeway has a reputation for great service, which it promotes heavily. One morning I called in to buy a toasted sandwich. Despite me spending just $3.85 the assistant spent 10 minutes fussing over me. I felt like I was making the most important purchase in the history of that company. She did it to all the customers. The brand was reinforced and the money and time invested in that brand was not wasted.

Straighten your tie or jacket and make that checklist now.