How to Build a Christian Business

Chapter 7 paragraph 2 The look of our business How a product looks plays a major part in the buying process - this can be either its attraction (physical appearance) or how well the product reflects its description. We must ensure that the outward-facing aspects of our business are attractive, e.g. our website, stationery and products we sell. First impressions last and so what we produce must make an impression from the outset. The attractiveness of our product is vitally important, as is its color and design. We must ensure we understand our market, as often colors can be synonymous with business types, e.g. pink cars are considered a niche and therefore fairly rare. If a company wants to attract corporate customers, colors such as blue are normally advised, not bright yellow. Ensure the colors chosen are consistent on all materials; this will help create a basic brand for our business. The look of our companies must also reflect their description, e.g. if the company creates websites, its own website should be of the highest quality. If the company bakes and sells cakes, the website, stationery and other external-facing business components must reflect the company’s primary function (in this case it’s to bake). There can be no disparity between the company’s primary function and its client-facing aspects. As a Christian owned business, the look of the company is vitally important for a number of reasons: 1. In everything we do it must represent the King of kings, and so our standard must be of the highest quality. If our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, we as His children should reflect this. I am not suggesting we blow our entire budget on making our business look good, we must always spend within our means, however there must be an emphasis on reflecting who we are. Our Father created the best He could when He created us, and we in turn should create the best we can. 2. The bible tells us that we are the light of the world, a city set upon a hill. Our business must also show our light - there should be nothing on our website, shop front or stationery that would compromise the light of Christ in us. I am not suggesting that we cover our outward-facing material with crosses or scriptures (this does not determine the success of our business, despite what many may think) but we must ensure we do not display materials contrary to our Christian belief. The look of our business will determine the amount of sales we achieve and our customers’ perception of our ability to meet their consumer needs. I am always amazed when on one of my family shopping trips how easily my children can be captured by the look of a product. They have no idea of the quality or whether a particular product is of good value - all it needs to have is a picture of their favorite cartoon character on it and they are sold. The manufacturer has taken the time to ensure the look of the product is appealing to one of its target groups. One of the businesses I own is a project management company; it is a small business, which gives me the opportunity to consult for businesses much larger than my own. If I were to look at my company from outside eyes, what would I see? My website is good (not great) but has a fairly good standard, however if you are in anyway technically astute it is evident that it had a limited budget. The materials I send out to clients again are of a good standard, but admittedly not the plush glossy materials that larger organizations may obtain. Finally, if you were to call my office, you would either get me (on the odd days), the administrator (dependent on the day you call) or the answering machine. All of these factors would give the impression that my company is a small firm (which it is). Now I’m not saying this to degrade my own firm or efforts, but it is an accurate evaluation of the potential perception many may have of my company in a fairly saturated market. I can use this information to do a number of many things: • I can accept the perception and use it to my advantage, e.g. market myself as small, highlighting the benefits of trading with smaller organizations; • I can set a plan to upgrade the areas that potentially create this small picture; or • Use the information to inform my marketing activity, e.g. not try to compete with others that are bigger (or perceived to be) than me but pitch myself appropriately according to my position. If you have an existing business, take a step back and look from the outside in - what do you see?