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Keeping up appearances

- you only get one chance to make a first impression

In essence, in any business, marketing is all to do with matching your output to client needs. This is done through the Marketing Mix which according to marketing strategist Kotler, is: ‘the set of controllable variables and their levels that the firm uses to influence the target market’ - so manipulating the Marketing Mix is simply the way in which you deliberately mould various aspects of your service delivery to achieve the best possible fit between your firm and the expectations of your target

market(s).

These “controllable variables” are generally taken as the four ‘P’s common to all organisations:

Product
Price
Place
Promotion

The P’s can be extended for service-based organisations to include a number of other variables such as People and Processes. Obviously for professional services you can take ‘product’ to mean ‘service’ but this aside they’re all fairly straightforward and equally valid regardless of nature or size of business.

However, the issue of ‘place’ in the marketing mix for professional services firms is one which is frequently skirted round and often very difficult to deal with. The problem lies not so much with the location of offices – though this can prove a thorny problem in itself for many firms – but the issue of the appearance of offices.

From our position as consultants - and therefore outsiders - we’re well placed to comment on the quality of ‘first impressions’ that many professionals’ offices provide. Our first visit to a firm is usually after we have undertaken some background research on them from their literature or website - how well the firm’s offices then live up to the image we’ve formed of them can sometimes be quite revealing.

Far too often, with small to medium-sized firms, we see quite impressive promotional literature and an acceptable website and then go to their offices which may vary from the frankly Dickensian to those firmly trapped in the fifties or sixties (and no, we’re not talking post-modernist, retro-irony, or whatever else the style gurus might like to call it – we’re just talking old). The effect is to immediately undermine all the good that the previous promotional messages have done.

‘You only get one chance to make a first impression’, as they say, but it’s obvious that many firms overlook this in respect of their offices. You can say what you like in your promotional material about how progressive you are and your unfailing attention to detail, but if a visitor to your offices gets exactly the opposite impression from your décor, you’ve immediately shot yourself in the foot. Neither can you take much comfort from the fact that your competitors’ offices might not be much better (or may even be worse). Your clients – be they commercial or private – will regularly be visiting other up-to-date commercial premises, whether retail, office or leisure and it’s those that they will compare you to.

Yes, office space is a difficult issue and furniture is expensive – but the problem is often simply that familiarity blinds many firms to the off-putting quality of their environment. Over time fashions change and things wear out so décor needs freshening and updating regularly to keep it in prime condition and reflect current, mainstream taste, even if it isn’t particularly your own personal taste. If all the office space can’t be upgraded then effort must be put into keeping public rooms in immaculate condition and these should then always be used for seeing clients and others.

A bright, contemporary, clean and tidy office can work wonders on staff morale – and it can be worth devoting some effort to this as part of, for example, launching a client care programme. Find out how staff feel about things, what they would like to have, or see happen – even if it can’t all be achieved for financial reasons, some improvements can be made. It may be worth getting people to come in over a weekend to help with a big clear up, on the understanding that they will receive some other benefit later on.

Even the simplest things, like providing water coolers/dispensers can have an amazingly beneficial effect, as can fresh flowers, up-to-date magazines and good quality coffee on improving the impression received by your clients.

Key tips for maximum client appeal:

Clean & New	Reception areas, meeting rooms, windows, doors, toilets, furniture and crockery should all be immaculate in condition and spotlessly clean – if in doubt, replace. Ensure paintwork is fresh and non-chipped, carpets are good quality and stain-free and that any exterior or shared areas are kept in prime condition.
Tidy	Avoid working areas and corridors becoming an obstacle course - keep files, papers, and general “stuff” in appropriate storage containers and streamline your office environment. Simple things like overflowing waste paper baskets give an impression of general lack of care.
Stylish	Make sure your furnishings and décor reflect your values and brand and demonstrate some flair. Art work, magazines, flowers can all say a great deal about the type of people you are.
Contemporary	Banish any sign of ‘old’ – as in old books, old furniture, old pictures – aim for modern and up-to-date.
Comfortable	Heating, lighting, furniture should aim to be comfortable, helping put people – staff and visitors - at their ease
Commercial	Keep personal effects to a minimum – particularly if they are to be seen by clients