The Art of Presentation

A lot of companies seek to set themselves apart from their competition and will try a variety of ways to accomplish this goal. Some will develop advertising campaigns, others will make distinctive changes to their customer service. There is, in fact, a ton of ways to set about making your mark as a business, but some are a bit simpler than others.

Consider the last time you paid for a service (oil change, tax preparation) or received a set of important documents (mortgage paperwork, presentation proposal). Assuming that the service itself was flawless, how was the paperwork/payment handled? Did you receive an unruly pile of papers/receipts or were they handed to you neatly organized in a folder? Which of these delivery methods would make its mark in your memory? Odds are that the paperwork handed over organized in a clean folder is more likely to leave the impression that you did business with a professional organization rather than the average Joe.

I realize this seems a bit of a stretch, but consider this example… What marks the difference between a Coach Bag and the want to look like version available at Target? Both bags are made of leather and follow the style of the season. Yes, there are some differences in the quality of the leather and construction, but all things considered they both hold your things as you travel about town and act as a fashion accessory for your outfit. From a shopping perspective, what sets them apart is the presentation of the bags as they are made available to the consumer. Things like the décor and atmosphere of the shop itself set the tone of expectation that one bag is significantly better than the other. Consider, as well, that Coach is well branded as a company making it instantly recognizable as something people are willing to pay more to own. When you buy a bag at Target, it gets added to your plastic shopping bag along with your other purchases. A Coach bag is presented to you in a protective cloth storage bag and then placed in branded packaging giving it a special status as an item worthy of its own shopping bag. There are a number of other differences that I could relay, but you are probably getting the point… or wondering where in the world I am going with this analogy! 

If your business involves services such as tax preparation or someone who handles mortgage applications and paperwork, would you prefer to be considered the Target or Coach of your industry? Which perception will help your bottom line? Beyond your office decor and personal attire, what can help set you apart from the Average Joe version of your business? Presentation to the customer! If you need to present your customers with a pile of papers for signing and filing their perception is sure to be significantly impacted by receiving these documents in a professional looking folder than one large pile. Add your company logo to these folders and you have very simply reinforced your branding efforts while also providing a visual reminder to your customer the next time they need your service and revisit these forms to see who they used before. Don’t believe me? Give it a try with a small test batch and see if you notice a change in the reaction of your customers.