Living in the modern world is much easier than it may seem to a person. It is hard to imagine that even 100 years ago, water and electricity were not in every house. Today, all civilized people live in comfortable conditions and do not think about comfort problems. What are modern people worried about? About his image. Read about image features below.
goal
To understand what an image is and why it is needed, one should correctly understand the goal of creating a favorable image. It is impossible to understand the functions of the image without realizing why they are needed. So why? To build a favorable reputation. As they say, they are met by clothes.
An image is that clothing and a peculiar area around the person or company on the basis of which they give an assessment. Appearance and rumors affect the reputation and can significantly facilitate or complicate the life of a person or a group of people. Therefore, the main objective of the image is to create a favorable image and maintain a good reputation. How can this problem be solved? There are many professions whose representatives solve this issue. Marketers, image makers and PR managers - all these people are developing a unique style, which is collectively called the image.
Tasks
Before moving on to listing the functions of the image, you should think a little about the tasks that all those people who are concerned about their reputation set themselves.
- The emotional component. A person who works on his image should focus on others. To stand out from the crowd and be remembered by others, you need to compare favorably with the gray mass. There are many ways to evoke emotions in the public. You can shock people, you can arrange mass events or in any way it is pleasant to surprise people. The task of the person involved in creating and maintaining the image is not to leave others indifferent. Even a negative opinion is better than none.
- Attracting investors. A person or a company can develop on their own money, but over time, resources run out. In order not to get into trouble, you need to take care of financing your own project in advance. Timely finding of funds will help a person to continue to develop his idea even when the funds run out.
- Constant innovation. You canāt stand still if you do not want others to forget about you. It is necessary not only to stay in trend, but also to set fashion trends. To do this, you need to be courageous and not be afraid to do something that no one has decided yet.
- Establishing good relationships with partners. A man who finds like-minded among his competitors will go far. No need to treat competitors as enemies. It is better to learn from your like-minded people, be inspired by their successes and not be afraid to share their secrets with them. Mutually beneficial friendships will not only improve the image of the company, but also help the company grow much faster.
- Good reputation as a leader. People do not go after the whole company. The inhabitants are accustomed to be one leader. It needs to be advertised to any enterprise that wants to make a good image for itself.
Structure
Do you want to create a positive image? The functions and structure of creating a positive perception of the company play an important role. How to understand what should concentrate on? You should focus on such factors:
- To attract attention. For people to notice the company, you need to get to know your customers. With the help of advertising, you can declare yourself. This first stage of image development will help to build trust. Without a successful acquaintance, you will not be able to make a good impression. Report to people that you know a lot about them, and now you want to tell everyone about yourself.
- Increase competition. Get to know your competitors. Do not be afraid to make yourself known not only to your consumers, but also to people who have long occupied the niche that you decide to encroach on. You will get a lot of new acquaintances, which can later come in handy.
- Benefit for everyone. Tell people why they need to follow you, or use the products or services that you offer. Personal charisma and image are based on the fact that a person acts honestly with his consumers. You must be credible and offer a truly quality product. It will help the best of the rest raise your reputation.
Stages
Want to build your image? You need to study the stages of creating your own style well:
- The first thing you need to do to build your reputation is to highlight the existing problems in the concept of your enterprise. If you are creating an image for yourself, then you need to honestly and frankly acknowledge what suits you, and what more needs to be done.
- Collection of information. This stage has something in common with the function of an individual image. You need to find out from others that they want from you what they expect and what they hope for. Remember, you work with people and for people, so you need to listen to the opinions of others.
- Preparation of a new image. This stage includes the development and refinement of all details. Before changing the concept of doing business, as well as the visual design of your company, you need to be aware of what changes you want to see and what you expect in the end.
- Change of image. At this stage, you need to bring the developed plan into action.
- Maintaining the image. For the system to work well, it must be constantly maintained, do not forget about it.
Kinds
The image is divided into two types:
- Interior. This view includes how the company sees itself and how its employees position themselves. Everything matters here: the attitude of management to subordinates, employee stimulation, people's understanding of who they work for and for what. If employees have no idea what mission they are fulfilling, then the company will not achieve much success.
- External. This image for the company is created by customers. Rumors, advertising, word of mouth - all this helps the company earn a reputation. You can not neglect the opinions of their customers, so that later they, in turn, do not neglect you. To maintain a good reputation, companies hold various promotions, arrange presentations, etc.
Identification
One of the value functions of the image is the external gloss of the company. Today, the style for large enterprises is developed by eminent designers. And all for what? So that people can distinguish one company from another by the logo. If the designer tries, then from the external picture it will be possible not only to understand the name of the company, but also the scope and even the pricing policy of the enterprise. A potential client for external advertising can get a complete picture of what the company can offer him.
But still, the main function of the image of the organization is recognition. Looking at the Coca-Cola logo, any modern person will at first glance say that it is delicious sparkling water. Confusing the logo of this company with something else is impossible. Any company that is engaged in improving its own image seeks such identification.
Contrast
Another of the functions of image formation is opposition. A person must understand to whom he is addressing. The image of a person or company will not be complete if he does not stand out from the competition. To better understand this feature, you can look at the image of goodies from fairy tales. Take, for example, the image of Ivanushka. By itself, this character is far from ideal, but against the backdrop of the Serpent Gorynych, he looks like a bright spot. The image of any person or company should be built on a similar principle. By emphasizing the differences between yourself and your competitors, you can stand out against their background.
Aesthetic
What is the main function of the image? Aesthetic. First of all, a person should be pleased to look at the image that the individual or company invented for himself. The visual component, as well as the concept of the enterprise, play one of the main roles in building customer confidence. So that a person can safely apply to the company, he must at first glance understand what the company is doing and what status it has. They are always and everywhere greeted by clothing, so you should not be amazed by the illusions that someone does not pay attention to the visual component.
Conservative
Want to make your image more modern? It is not so easy. Why? For the reason that the image functions include a conservative component. What does it mean? Over the many years of the existence of various organizations, as well as various professions, people have developed an understanding of what they expect from specialists in a particular field.
The visual component should not go far from stereotypes so as not to cause dissonance in people. What does it mean? If a lawyer dresses like a dancer in a club, he will not be taken seriously. If the company for the development of architectural projects will impress modernism, then it will be able to scare away most of its customers. The image of companies should not go beyond the generally accepted concepts, otherwise the office will be difficult to exist.
Market positioning
Each person should adequately represent the place that he occupies in this world. And any company should do the same. The structure and functions of the image help people understand how to properly position themselves.
Potential customers choose from numerous options an office that can satisfy all the requirements. And it is not so difficult to imagine that very many choose a company not only for external attributes, but also for reviews. Therefore, one of the functions of the image makes people think about the impression that remains with customers. You should always remember that word of mouth is the best advertisement.
Motivation for action
What corporate image features can I list? One of the main ones is the impulse to action. The image of the company should force the client to turn to the organizationās specialists for help, advice or for another service. Advertising and organization style development are primarily aimed at sales. This is the main goal of any company, so you do not need to think long about how the organization lives and why it brings its own external gloss. Sales, customer acquisition and, most importantly, a clear relationship between the product and the company are the main tasks of any corporation that wants to succeed not only in a narrow segment of consumers, but also enter the world market.