I grew up in a 5 kid household with a single mom, I was well aware of the 'image' that people would have, but I would do anything to not let my 'poorness' show through.
We all judge, and sometimes it's for a good reason. Men will seek out women with rounder hips and larger breasts as a sign for breeding, women will assess their ability to take care and provide for the house hold.
We're judged at interviews for the viability of our match to the team and for the role. We dress up as though our outfit was a deciding factor (which is should not be but turns out to be relevant).
We judge a house within 4 seconds of pulling up and can generally figure out if we want to buy it right away. We can walk in and have a completely different impression but often, that second opinion doesn't always happen.
Judging helps us figure out what is safe, what is potentially dangerous, what a match is and draws us in different directions, but judgements are not always right, but they still matter.
People judge your business and act in a manner that reflects the judgment. If you seem disorganized, you'll likely have clients feel as though they constantly need to follow up. If you are extremely professional and polished, clients assume they will pay more.
Adobe proved that professional design fairs better for businesses overall than unprofessional design. A DIY website often does not reach as many people as a professional design by a well-versed specialist. People will have opinions about home-based businesses vs. brick-and-mortar (thankfully this has blurred since c*vid).
We get strange on Zoom noticing the backgrounds and even judging and creating mental speculation when backgrounds are blurred -- creating a carefully curated visual impression for our online personas.
Have you ever walked up to a restaurant and it seemed in disrepair and you let that image reflect your belief about the food? What about the bathroom? 51 percent of Americans say an unpleasant public restroom at a business shows poor management*, but if there is a maintenance schedule posted on the wall it makes us feel more confident. 60 percent say they are likely to spend more cash at a business with clean, well-maintained restrooms.
How often do you google a business before you go? If you see its 5-star you have a pre-believed idea about the business, a primer, that lends to what your expectations and judgements are about the establishment.
My husband once owned a car wash and when he parked his Aston Martin our front people thought a little differently about him than when he parked his dodge truck out front and treated the establishment differently based on each person's heuristic about 'fancy cars' whether they were impressive or obnoxious.
Everything we do or don't do reflects and creates an opportunity to let people make judgements about us, or sends a message about who we are. For many of us, time, budget or ability can be out limitations, so when you are deciding where to spend and where to save, consider where your customer may notice because it may carry more weight than you realize.
All of these judgements show us what matters to us, and gives us subtle cues about what the interaction with someone might be like, whether we feel like we can trust them or whether we have reservations based on subconscious cues we don't even realize (strangely I find undecorated rooms to feel a lack of personality).
Judgments help us feel protected, and in control and even give us a bit of justification for our choices. It makes it easier for us to decide where we are comfortable and more cautious.
What judgements do you make?
Julie Boake
lets talk about the impression your business makes.
*cleanlink2022
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