If you have been in business for longer than five minutes you will have read or heard about the fact that your business branding extends well beyond your logo. But sometimes I wonder whether than message has really sunk in!

Recently I was driving in the car with my administration assistant. She noticed a van on the road near us and remarked that she had been thinking of trying out that company. As we drove closer to the van, she noticed that the driver was smoking and she remarked “well, maybe I won’t now!”. This company was in the natural health industry, so the image of someone smoking was incongruous for her and resulted in her forming a negative opinion.

This business had a great logo, solid marketing messages and attracts a ‘cashed up’ niche market. But they failed on a basic aspect of branding – everything that customers see and experience about their business should reinforce their message. And unfortunately, seeing the driver smoking did the exact opposite.

It was highly unlikely that the driver of this van was the owner of this business, and as such, the business owner does not have ultimate ‘control’ over everything that every staff member does. But what they do have control over is the policies they enforce, the culture they create and the consequences for staff who perform outside those boundaries.

In addition, if we had contacted the business to let them know what we saw, the reaction to our complaint would have given the business an opportunity to ‘redeem’ themselves. The way you deal with a ‘branding glitch’ speaks volumes about your commitment to, and the validity of, your marketing messages

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

You’ve hired some great staff to work in your business. They’ve settled in nicely, although you are wondering when your workload is going to decrease – in fact you feel like you are doing MORE work not less. What is going on?

Chances are, you are micromanaging your staff. Here are some typical scenarios:

1. You make assumptions about ability and skill level. It took you six months to get a handle on a particular skill, so you assume it will take someone else the same amount of time. Do not let pride get in the way of potential for improvement! You hired your staff for their skills, aptitude and experience. Let them use it.
2. You are not open to things being done differently. Your method has always served you well, so you expect your staff to perform a task in the same manner. Do not let fear of change get in the way of new and innovative ways to work!
3. You are uneasy about trusting your staff to work efficiently when they are unsupervised. How are you going to know they are doing the work they should? At some point you will need to take a ‘risk’ and let your staff stand on their own. They may make mistakes, but use those incidences as learning experiences. The vast majority of people respond well to trust and are likely to perform better when they are given responsibility.

In general, the more ‘hands off’ you can be, the better the result. This does not mean you leave a staff member to work with no boundaries or relevant, essential procedures. But allowing your staff to make a job their ‘own’ will result in an increased level of ‘ownership’ of their position and/or particular tasks, and increased loyalty to your business.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender