Perception is Reality

Posted by kathyhagens on February 24, 2012

Marketing. Sales. Customer service. Branding. Recruiting. The customer experience. See a link? If you don’t, you’re missing the boat. And you may be putting your company in jeopardy.

All companies have a brand. It doesn’t matter if that company is a Fortune 50 global publicly-traded corporation or a privately held regional company. Or if the company is a family owned and operated business or a one person entrepreneurial start-up. They all have brands. And brands are a direct result of image. And many other efforts. Certainly strategic and integrated marketing. A sales force that’s out there facing customers every day. Individuals inside the company providing customer service. Internal and external recruiters. It all works together. All of these moving parts come together to build your brand. Don’t underestimate the power of brand. Or your company reputation.

It doesn’t take long for anyone to form an opinion on your brand. It’s the small things. Getting back to someone when you say you will. Following up with additional information that was promised. Communicating status. Putting on a friendly smile which is reflected in the voice on the phone. Sending out a clear and concise e-mail or letter. A prompt and accurate response to a question. Those simple things help build the brand. They live the brand promise. They make it real.

If you’re a recruiter, a hiring manager, an individual in human resources or talent management, you’re on the front line every day. You are visual representation of the company brand. It may be your own company. It may be the company you work for. But you’re visible. And you make a big difference. Each and every day.

You may be busy. Take that back. You are busy. Too busy. A lot going on. Not enough hours in the day. You aren’t always getting the answers you need from those you work with regarding the status of a particular position or candidate. That’s not unusual today. Everyone’s overworked. And many times overwhelmed. But think about what’s important to the future success of your company. Your company brand as well as your personal brand. Can you really afford NOT to take the extra few minutes to communicate? Get back to job candidates regarding the status of the job they’ve interviewed for? Do you really want to leave them with a negative impression of your company? Even though they may not be offered the job they were seeking, you can still leave them feeling good about you and your company. And that’s important. For many reasons. Strong communication leads to a positive feeling about you and your company. And that it turn helps support a strong and respected brand. And if handled right, that results in more sales and additional revenue. And who doesn’t like that?

Perception is reality. Do your part to contribute.

Tiny URL for this post: http://tinyurl.com/77nlqwe

Whatever happened to Common Courtesy?

Has business today forgotten this basic when it comes to job applicants? Unbelievable tales seem to emerge every day from professional job applicants who have had serious interviews with a company and then fallen into a deep black hole. Why is this happening? What’s the other side of the story? The perspective from Human Resources and hiring managers? How can we prevent it from occurring again? That’s what Common Courtesy is all about. We want to hear your stories. Are you a human resources recruiter, a hiring manager or a final candidate for a professional position? We'd love to hear from you. info@common-courtesy.com.

Common Courtesy is a website for you, our loyal readers.

The intent is to share constructive information between professional job seekers, human resource recruiters and hiring managers. It is intended to help educate all, providing beneficial information for everyone. Our goal is to focus on what happened, what should have happened, and how it could have been avoided to make the interviewing process much more satisfying, even when a final applicant is not selected for the position. We want to hear from job seekers and human resource professionals. info@common-courtesy.com.