Be Your (Business) Self

It’s absolutely true that the reputation of your business, is your business. In fact from a marketing perspective, your business reputation is the end-all-be-all of your image. But this doesn’t mean you should stifle all sense of style, or consider yourself a slave to whatever request, or that you must be a cookie-cutter running a Proven Formula That Works™.

Though we advocate copying good models and even franchising, you’ve got to be yourself. If you’re a goofy surfer dude starting a burger joint, start a goofy surfer dude’s burger joint or a McDonald’s. Don’t start a burger joint with no personality nor good backing. You won’t get the benefit of the name, and anybody who considers taking a chance with you might have no reason to remember you later.

The same goes for any business, be it brick and mortar, or web-based. It’s even true with internet marketing, in fact especially so. Do you really think that you can just slap ads and a short bit of descriptive text onto a catchy domain name, and that’s it? There’s virtually no chance. However, if you put in some effort, and some personality, your web offers become a totally different animal. People want to buy from people they like, and you’re somebody. Be somebody when you talk to the rest of the web. Give them some substance of your personality in what you do, and make it quality.

Do both the strictly-business stuff to assure the world of your professionalism, and the eyebrow-raising or smirk-inducing or heartwarming things, to assure them of your humanity.