I remember taking an Art History class as a freshman in college. We were studying the Baroque period and the Flemish artist, Peter Paul Rubens. One of my fellow students raised his hand and asked the professor why it was that Rubens painted so many overweight people, especially women. The professor explained that Rubens painted for wealthy constituents. He went on to explain that until the age of television, being what we would call overweight was considered a sign of health – the person was well fed - and wealth. He went on to tell us that up until the 20^th century, Ruben’s women were considered the very image of beauty and our "supermodel”, pencil thin image of a beauty was considered sickly. My how times have changed!

Speaking of image, what is the image of your business? It has been said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Well in business, beauty is in the eyes of your customer. And if you are not careful, you may see the same thing as your customer, but come to the opposite conclusion based on your lack of understanding of their perspective. You may think that your customer is thinking you have a beautiful business, when in reality, they are thinking you have a sickly business. Guarding the company image – or brand as we call it – is the responsibility of marketing. If you are in charge of marketing, it is important that you keep your finger on the pulse of your customer base to understand what they are truly thinking about your image. How do you do this? Here are some tips.

Measure your customer service success and failure

I am a big proponent of customer service falling under marketing. If a customer has a bad experience with your product or service, they will be forgiving if you fix the problem. If not, your business image will take a hit and you risk not only losing this customer, but any others they will influence to take their business elsewhere. We often forget about the tremendous influence customer service has on any future sales. Ask your customers how their experience was with you. Ask them how your company can do a better job. By just asking, you have enhanced your corporate image. This can be done with a formal customer satisfaction survey, but the truth is, a good marketer is always asking customers these types of questions in an informal way.

Answer angry customers

Social media has given the disgruntled people of the world a forum to complain. Complaints are not something I enjoy dealing with, but if they are not dealt with, your business image will again take a hit. I encourage businesses to respond to negative social media posts. I also encourage them to reach a happy place with unhappy customers. Does that mean you need to give up the farm to keep them happy? No, but it does mean you need to communicate with them and make a realistic attempt to satisfy them.

Emphasize the good things your company is doing beyond doing business

Don’t get so caught up in doing business that you don’t post your successes. That includes what you are doing in terms of charitable causes and philanthropy. Marketing is responsible for pushing good PR out to the public. Social media is a good way to do this, but there are other avenues as well. Local news sources are typically eager to publish company news around these kinds of endeavors. Take advantage of these opportunities because they will help build a positive image.

Attach your brand to good things

Along those same lines, make sure you understand what you are backing when you do any kind of sponsorship. Attaching your business brand to a good cause is a great thing. Attaching it to something that is questionable in the minds of your target market is taking a huge risk. So often I see businesses get involved in a sponsorship simply because someone they know is involved in it. Take the time to investigate the group or cause you are supporting.

Guard your brand. Understand what your customers are thinking. Make decisions based on their values and attitudes. Do what you can to keep them happy and thinking positive things about your brand.