Appearance Counts

Books are judged by their covers, houses are appraised by their curb appeal, and businesses are initially evaluated on how they choose to market and advertise their products or services. In a perfect world this is not fair, moral, or just. What’s inside should count a great deal more. And eventually it usually does, but not right away. In the meantime, a lot of opportunities can be lost.

But we can control how we portray ourselves to the outer world. In transformational learning, the idea is to start at a place that is most visible and allows for immediately recognized results. Wardrobe, grooming, and nonverbal communication are aspects that are apparent on the outside to the outside world. Combined, these factors can frame us as competent, knowledgeable, elegant, gracious, powerful, or anything else we choose to communicate.

You Have Just Thirty Seconds

Social psychologists studying the impact of image have determined that’s how long it takes for someone meeting you to form a whole laundry list of impressions about your company's products and services. The list of impressions encompasses:

  • Your offering 
  • Company competence and success 
  • Pricing
  • Level of sophistication
  • Trustworthiness
  • Sense of humor
  • Social heritage

    • Now, thirty seconds doesn’t give you time to pull out your business plan, showcase your financial results, or present product references. It doesn’t allow any time to explain that you and your company have talent, skills, training, and a substantial list of truly satisfied employees and customers.

    In thirty seconds, people form all those different impressions based almost entirely on what they see—your visual communications. Appearances do count.

    These quick impressions can be lasting ones. Psychologists call it the halo effect. When your visual message is positive, the person you’ve just met will tend to assume that other aspects about you are equally positive. But unfortunately, if your visual message is negative, that new customer, client, co-worker, or prospective venture capitalist may not spend the time and effort to discover the business inside.

    Appearances count in today’s world—as much or even more than in earlier decades. Rigid “success dressing” rules have yielded to new, more flexible guidelines that encompass casual business looks as well as traditional power suits. But as the speed of the business world accelerates, the importance of making a positive first impression increases, too. 

    Unique Selling Proposition: 

    Motion Graphics: The Art of Finding Your Unique Selling Proposition

    diFilm Pixel Works is about making your offering different from, and more valuable than, your competitors' offerings--and placing that idea in the minds of a target group of customers through visual communication, projected on a 5-foot screen or 29-inch Plasma display. Visual aids attracts customers by creating a positive and unique identity for your company and its offerings. It is vital for distinguishing your offering from everybody else's.

    In a world where there are more and more products and services every day, your customers are on advertising overload all the time. So they pick something to believe and hold that notion until a message breaks through and persuades them to change.

    And diFilm delivers that message.