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18 | Kitchen & Bath Design News December 2014 Bettering Your Bottom Line { ,en Peterson, $,%, -P#$ } A company's reputation is the cornerstone of its success. Through reputation alone, your com- pany can earn high-end referrals or win lucrative multiple-housing projects; however, once that reputa- tion slips, your company is vulnerable. So it's imperative that you make sure your rep- utation is unassailable. Human nature being what it is, appearances are the barometer of almost all judgments these days. One slip-up can prove di- sastrous to your business. Fortunately, social media is a two-edged sword. While it's easier for disgruntled clients, employees or sub- contractors to express their adverse sentiments, it's also easier for kitchen/bath de- sign owners to discover potential smears and thwart them before they spread. Because a reputation can be harmed so quickly, it's critical that the making and maintaining of a reputation be of your own creation. It must be carefully developed and nurtured during the evo- lution of your business from start-up, through growth phases, and into maturity. KEEP IT SIMPLE With kitchen/bath and de- sign/build start-ups, you must work to establish a reputation for one outstand- ing quality. In my judgment, that should be professional credibility . How do you cre- ate that? First, embrace and market a company mission – in your showroom, on your Web site and in all marketing collateral materials – with a major beneft that resonates well with consumers. Through social media, prospects today are likely to have preconceptions long before making a buying decision. So it's vital your company mission stands out and ofers a highly desirable benefit. Yours might read something like: "We are in the business of enhancing our clients' quality of life by sharing with them the pros and cons of each design con- cept, product, service and budget consideration so they are empowered to make the best decision for their family with a project that promises to be as personal as their signatures." Such a collab- orative, educational process of discovery creates genuine value for consumers. Second, be published in a shelter magazine, which will help you gain credibility as a design professional. Once people see your project in a national magazine, they will have a much high er level of respect for your talent and professionalism. Third, I would encourage you to conduct consumer seminars in your showroom, at local bookstores and for organizations frequented by your target customers. By giving a talk on "How to Save Thousands on a De- signer Kitchen," for example, consumers can experience your expertise, personality and professionalism – and that can bring in leads. Lastly, establish your company's social media pres- ence on Houzz and Facebook. Remain active by posting pho- tography of your company's jobs, engage in conversa- tion on any comments and always ask your customers for referrals. And don't ig- nore a negative comment! It's almost more detrimental to your reputation to ignore a negative comment than it is for you to address it head on. Your thoughtful, strategic response will reinforce your business, values and mission. STAND FOR INTEGRITY According to market research guru Faith Popcorn, consum- ers really want to know what to expect up front from do- ing business with a company. They want to know who the president is and what he/she believes in. And they par- ticularly want to know how the company will respond if something goes wrong. That's why I feel standing for integ- rity – doing what you say – is th e best reputation to culti- vate as your business grows. Smart businesspeople will be proactive, sitting down with their staf and agree- ing on a set of principles by which to run the company. Once completed, everyone on staf should sign of on this Code of Values document. To market your operation- al values, develop a brochure around the Statement of Val- ues and include it in your Prospect Information Portfo- lio and on your Web site. In lieu of a brochure, you could accomplish the same purpose by hanging a framed wall panel in a prominent show- room location. The following represent some of the values you might consider as part of your operational conduct: • Communication. The burden of communica- tion – on the details of the design, terms of the agreement, changes in schedule, expectations during installation, etc. – rests with our frm. • Quality. We are sticklers for good quality in prod- uct and workmanship. It means enduring value over time. If we can't live with something, it will be corrected before you even ask. • Trust. We believe in delivering what we promise – no surprises – and treating your home and project as if it was our own. ADDRESSING A 'HIGH- PRICED' REPUTATION Sometimes, kitchen/bath companies that have grown successfully are unfairly tagged with a "high-priced" reputation. Most of the time this happens because more afuent clients may have pur- chased brand name, heavily advertised products. In get- togethers, people tend to chat about such highly visible, high-priced things. Beware that high-priced reputation doesn't morph into a "rip-off" reputation. The best way to prevent that escalation is through consumer education. Wise owners would have spe- cific tools ready in their marketing kit to combat such situations. For example, they might publish a brochure and/or blog entitled "You Get What You Pay For" that explains why low price rarely means best value. You can also develop both of these brochure titles into consumer seminars to spread the word. And, in the not-too- distant future, progressive dealers will likely take ad- vantage of digital messaging systems that run scores of brief videos all day long in showroom kiosks on a wide range of consumer topics, educating them about why the extra services are criti- cally important. As marketing experts say, your reputation inevi- tably precedes you. And, if it inspires respect, a lot of the work is done for you be- fore you arrive on the scene, or utter a single word. Just remember, reputation is a treasure to be carefully collected, hoarded and vigor- ously defended. Guard it with your life. Ken Peterson, CKD, LPBC, is president of the Chapel Hill, NC-based SEN Design Group. For more information about this topic, please contact Pe- terson at 1-800-991-1711 or kpeterson@sendesign.com. Peterson also welcomes comments, questions or concerns. "Your reputation inevitably precedes you – and if it inspires respect, a lot of the work is done for you before you even arrive on the scene." Read past columns and features and send us your comments about this article and others by logging onto our Web site: www.ForResidentialPros.com Guard Your Reputation With Your Life It's critical to develop and nurture your frm's reputation throughout the evolution of your business, from start up through growth phases and into maturity.