Your own personal Marketing Image: Aspirational Will not Mean Dishonest
Entrepreneurs are amazingly brave people. No matter how they may publicly shy away from comments like that, they're well aware of how much courage it takes to walk away from someone's payroll and create or grow a business.
But despite their courage, many entrepreneurs become downright timid when it comes to marketing. Specifically, these bold folks become reticent when describing their companies.
It always surprises me. Every entrepreneur I've known moved in that direction because he or she was convinced that his / her company would be much better than others in the marketplace. They could have had an improved idea, top quality, a streamlined delivery method, or more responsive service, but whatever it could have already been, their decision was driven by that need to create a new standard.
Yet, when it's time and energy to tell the world about their companies, many of them seem to be embarrassed. Maybe they're afraid their small workspaces don't match the grandeur of the Class A towers anywhere. Or possibly they think their big-firm counterparts are chuckling at their efforts. I'm sure there's a different explanation every time, but the result is the same: they downplay what they're doing at the very time that they need to project confidence.
Marketing professionals utilize the term "aspirational marketing" to spell it out a strategy where all consumers desire certain products or quality levels, but only a few can actually afford to acquire them. I would recommend there's another marketing application for "aspirational," and that is how up-and-coming companies should promote themselves in the marketplace.
When we desire to something, we're setting a target for what or where we hope to be. We want to look thinner, so we tell ourselves we'll eat less and exercise more. You want to sound smarter at the job, so we take classes or read publications about business. As we move toward our aspirations, we gradually end up being the people we hope to be.
The same holds true for a small business. As you develop your marketing materials, you don't have to present yourself exactly as you are today. Without being dishonest (more on that later), you need to present yourself as you want your visitors to see you.
That is where the timidity or embarrassment typically appears. Entrepreneurs become afraid of presenting their businesses aspirationally, because they worry that it isn't authentic. If they create a reference to how hard their staff works, they're afraid a prospect will quickly realize that the staff is actually their 12-year-old daughter, who really helps to assemble presentations in return for iTunes money. If they talk about "our offices," they worry that someone will conduct a surprise inspection and recognize that your executive suite is really a converted walk-in closet.
Yet the big companies you'll want to work with (or one day compete with) please take an aspirational approach. They don't really hesitate to position themselves as industry leaders or the business offering the highest-quality products. Can you eat at a restaurant that admitted, "Yeah, our food is okay, but it isn't really as good as that place outside?" Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but it's how far too many startups and small companies present themselves.
A simple example of this sort of thinking is when one-person startups agonize over whether to refer to themselves as "I" or "we" when writing about the business in websites along with other marketing materials. The presumption is that using "we" is somehow dishonest if your organization currently has but one employee. I've observed heated discussions about them over online forums and paid attention to impassioned arguments at networking gatherings. In line with the energy devoted to this topic, you'd think it was the toughest dilemma a business owner might face.
But it surely isn't as big a deal as most of those arguing seem to think. Just choose whatever sounds comfortable and opt for it, if you are not violating your field's ethical standards. When I write about my company, I use "we" - and not because the dogs and cat often share my office. more info of the royal "we" separates me, the writer, from the bigger umbrella that's my business. If your goal would be to have more than one employee, using "we" will put you in the proper mindset.
Of course, you have to be reasonable. You may dream that your startup may 1 day dominate the Fortune 500, but you probably don't want your present website to claim that you're already there. In order you select your aspirational messages, think in terms of steps. Today, your message could be that you're an area leader in repairing veeblefetzers. A year from now, you may well be comfortable calling yourself a regional leader. And five years from now, your aspiration can be a national reputation.