Your current Marketing Image Aspirational Does not Mean Dishonest

Entrepreneurs are amazingly brave people. Regardless of how they may publicly shy away from comments like this, they're well aware of just how much courage it takes to walk away from someone's payroll and create or grow a business.

But despite their courage, many entrepreneurs become downright timid with regards to marketing. Specifically, these bold folks become reticent when describing their companies.

It always surprises me. Every entrepreneur I've known moved in that direction because she or he was convinced that their company would be better than others in the marketplace. They may have had an improved idea, higher quality, a streamlined delivery method, or even more responsive service, but whatever it may have been, their decision was driven by that need to create a new standard.

Yet, when it's time to tell the world about their companies, most of them look like embarrassed. Maybe they're afraid their small workspaces don't match the grandeur of the Class A towers across town. Or maybe they think their big-firm counterparts are chuckling at their efforts. I'm sure there's a different explanation every time, but the result may be the same: they downplay what they're doing at the very time that they need to project confidence.

Marketing professionals utilize the term "aspirational marketing" to describe a strategy in which all consumers desire certain products or quality levels, but just a few can actually afford to obtain them. I suggest there's another marketing application for "aspirational," and that is how up-and-coming companies should present themselves in the marketplace.

When we desire to something, we're setting a target for what or where we hope to be. We want to look thinner, so we tell ourselves we'll eat less and exercise more. You want to sound smarter at the job, so we take classes or read publications about business. As we move toward our aspirations, we gradually end up being the people hopefully to be.

The same holds true for a small business. As you develop your marketing materials, you don't have to present yourself exactly as you're today. Without being dishonest (more on that later), you should present yourself as you need your visitors to see you.

That is where the timidity or embarrassment typically appears. Entrepreneurs become afraid of presenting their businesses aspirationally, because they worry that it isn't authentic. If they create a reference to how hard their employees works, they're afraid a prospect will discover that the staff is really their 12-year-old daughter, who helps to assemble presentations in substitution for iTunes money. If they talk about "our offices," they worry that someone will conduct a surprise inspection and realize that your executive suite is really a converted walk-in closet.

Yet the big companies you'll want to work with (or 1 day compete with) don't hesitate to take an aspirational approach. check here don't hesitate to put themselves as industry leaders or the business offering the highest-quality products. Would you eat at a restaurant that admitted, "Yeah, our food is okay, but it's not really as effective as that place outside?" Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but it's what lengths too many startups and small companies present themselves.

A simple example of this sort of thinking is when one-person startups agonize over whether to refer to themselves as "I" or "we" when writing about the business in websites and other marketing materials. The presumption is that using "we" is somehow dishonest if your business currently has but one employee. I've observed heated discussions on the subject over online forums and paid attention to impassioned arguments at networking gatherings. In line with the energy specialized in this topic, you'd think it had been the toughest dilemma a business owner might face.

But it surely isn't as big a deal because so many of those arguing appear to think. Just choose whatever sounds comfortable and opt for it, if you are not violating your field's ethical standards. When I write about my company, I use "we" - and not as the dogs and cat often share my office. That usage of the royal "we" separates me, the writer, from the larger umbrella that's my business. If your goal is to have more than one employee, using "we" will put you in the right mindset.

Of course, you have to be reasonable. You may dream your startup may 1 day dominate the Fortune 500, but you probably don't want your current website to suggest that you're already there. In order you select your aspirational messages, think when it comes to steps. Today, your message could be that you're a local leader in repairing veeblefetzers. A year from now, you may well be comfortable calling yourself a regional leader. And five years from now, your aspiration can be a national reputation.