Do you have a heart for your customer or clientele? I don’t mean that you care about them because they need your product or service, but that you really care about them in their successes and thru their hardships. There seems to be more people and companies in hardships these days. I see it with family, friends, clients and associates. I have heard horror stories and have had experiences myself with businesses that operate with no heart. No empathy. Businesses who don’t care enough to take the time to listen and work with individuals or companies struggling financially in this troublesome economy.

I remember as a child of a farmer, my parent’s struggles financially. Some months we were financially strapped more than other months. We lived in a small town and shopped at a small local grocery store. Those lean months we were able to run a tab for groceries and pay at the end of the month or make a payment mid month and the balance due at months end. Far, far, gone are those days. Believe me, I am not naive to the world we live in and how difficult it is to trust people. But, somehow along the way, business has become so impersonal and greedy that a lot of companies end up giving their customers or clients experiencing financial difficulties, heart burn instead of what they really need…some heart.

My company is not a fortune 500 company that can sustain for months without compensation for our services, but I have decided to run a business with heart. I have great clients. I know this because, I make it a point to build a strong relationship with them. A relationship not just centered on the service I provide them, but on sharing in their successes and empathizing with their hardships. That kind of business relationship builds trust, so when in need of service or are encountering financial difficulties, we can easily sit and discuss options that will get their project completed as well as payment for our service rendered. Everything is still done business-like. Options are discussed and contractual agreement are drawn up. I have found the most successful options have been payment plans or breaking projects up with smaller payments made upon completion of each stage.

So, practice empathy. Don’t give your customers or clients heartburn when they call you with their financial struggles in this down-turned economy. Your customers or clients are the HEART of your business, make sure they KNOW so.

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  I is for INITIATIVE:

  In business it is important to begin and follow thru with a plan or task. Take the initiative to do the right thing and be proactive when it comes to your business and clients. I have found that my clients are so appreciative when I have emerged myself so much in their brand that I am proactive with giving them “head up” to potential problems or inconsistencies with in their product or service as well as informing them of ways that they can grow and expand their business or brand presence. Following thru is key. Your actions have to match your words when it comes to business.

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  N is for NEEDS:

  Find the need and fill it. This applies to your client as well as their customer. Its important to know what your clients needs are when you begin your partnership with them and to continue to check in to be sure you are continuing to meet their ever growing needs. Equally important is to do, due diligence in researching your clients product or service and know their customer. By knowing their customer you can guide your client in how to better reach or service their customers needs.

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  T is for TRUST:

  Behaving with integrity builds trust among the people you are dealing with and in business this is essential. Trust coupled with excellence (our next word) acquaints to repeat business and referrals from satisfied clients. A strong trustworthy partnership means a strong business and a strong business means a strong brand.

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  E is for EXCELLENCE:

  To be successful you need to do everything with a quality of excellence. In design especially, it is said, “you are only as good as your last project”. This doesn’t mean you have to be perfect it means you conduct your business with high standards and settle for nothing less then your best.

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  G is for GUARANTEE:

  If you conduct your business with the highest standards and settle for nothing other then your best then you have no problems guaranteeing your work or service. A guarantee is not just assurance for your client or customer but it speaks volumes about your work ethic and character.

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  R is for RESPECT:

  One of the most effective way you can be a positive influence in business is showing respect. The greatest demonstration of respect is when it is shown to someone who may not have given it. Respect is at the core of the phrase my father always said, “Don’t burn any bridges in business”. We all have had experiences working with difficult people. Continuing to show respect  and speaking with respect well after that person or situation is no longer, shows that you conduct your business with an attitude of esteem towards others.

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  I is for INTELLIGENCE:

  Know your business or service. Know your clients business or service. Only by doing this, do you have the ability to learn or understand or deal with new or trying situations that may arise. Be teachable. Never believe you know it all. We live in a world that is ever changing so it is important to stay up with how things are changing, transforming and advancing. An intelligent business owner also acknowledges when they may not have the answers and then follows up with diligent research and a successful solution.

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  T is for TEAMWORK:

  It is often said, “Two head are better then one”. This is where teamwork comes into play. Whether you lead a team or are on a team, working together is the key. Sometimes it may be just you and your client. Well, thats your team. Your client is your VIP, so to speak, of your team. They are the closest to their brand and can give you great insight that graphs and figures may not. Teamwork is give and take. The most effective teamwork is when several associates work with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the task or goal. When working on a team, know your skills  and best attributes. Its important to position yourself within the team to best utilize those skills and attributes. I consider all my working partnerships a team whether its with one person or 20.

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  Y is for YOU:

  You can make a difference in this world. How you live your life is a direct reflection of you to the core. You are not going to be perfect but always conduct your self with integrity even if its cleaning up a mistake you have made. If you make sure the person people see and interact with is the person you truly are, you will be successful with whatever you put your mind to.

Do I have a manager or brand identity enforcer? Once your brand is established, that should be your first question you ask yourself. Keeping your brand consistent is just as important as developing the brand itself. Having someone that manages and enforces consistency with your brand is a must. Consistency builds confidence. The more consistent the brand is to the customer across all advertising and marketing mediums, the more trustworthy your product or service appears. Managing clients brands and enforcing brand consistency has been one of our strongest services here at Inspired Creations. Infact, our two newest clients have come to us primarily for this service.

Our one new client has an established brand. But, over the years they have worked with multiple designers and without a brand manager, which has caused their branding to become inconsistent. They hired us to manage their brand and enforce their brand identity. Our first step was  to review their corporate identity package, all marketing materials, and their web presence to see where there were inconsistencies. The greatest inconsistency we found was with their logo graphic. So our first item of business was to bring consistency to their logo image without altering their established identity. We did this by not changing the colors or the image itself, but making sure all elements within the image were consistent across the different size variations needed by our client. Our next step was to create some new ads and web banners using this new consistent logo graphic. Once we brought consistency back to their brand, it is solely our job to maintain it. We do that by not just designing new materials consistent with their brand positioning but by being their point person when working with vendors or the media. The benefit of hiring a design company to manage your brand is that, since they hold all your assets, you can be sure everything that is released to the public is consistent with your brand identity and positioning.

Our other new client came to us specifically for brand management. We have worked with this person in this capacity many times over the years so it was exciting to get the call asking us to manage his brand for his new business venture. Being a smart entrepreneur, he had already created a great brand identity and was well on his way to establishing a presence in the market place with no outside help. But with his brand growing so quickly he needed to hire someone to not only continue to design consistent materials but to manage their assets and the release of their assets. We have been working with them now for 6 months and have designed multiple print marketing materials, advertising, packaging and signage as well as being their contact for the release of any assets to vendors or the media.

We view Brand Management as our most important service. After creating your brand their is nothing more important than to hire someone to make sure your it stays consistent with your vision and positioning. Look to us as a long term partner. Whether you are an entrepreneur needing a brand identity or an owner of a company with an already established brand, Inspired Creations can help. We ensure that your branding is kept consistent across all marketing materials and advertising mediums and that your core values consistently fit in with your long term business strategy. The phrase “long term” is key. Leading brands are normally leading because they have had many years of consistency behind them. The trick is to have in place a clear ideas of your brand and then the right people in place to guard and enforce it.