Perception is formed early
Most buyers have formed a view of a business before they speak to it. In its 2024 Buyer Experience Report, 6sense found that business buyers are around 70 per cent of the way through their purchasing process before they first engage a supplier. Local buyers behave similarly: BrightLocal’s survey found that 87 per cent of consumers used Google to evaluate local businesses.
That view is built from evidence the business may not have looked at recently: the search result, the website, the reviews, the social channels and the documents a buyer receives.
Find out how you are seen today
It is common for owners to assume buyers see the business the way its best clients do. Often they do not. Existing clients know the quality of the work and the people. New buyers see only what is presented, and if that presentation has fallen behind, they see a smaller or less specialised business than the one that exists.
The ways to find out are simple. Ask your best clients why they chose you. Ask prospects who chose someone else what tipped the decision. Review every channel in the order a stranger would see it, which is the core of a brand audit. Compare what you say about yourself with what your competitors say.
| Question | What it tells you | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Ask your best clients why they chose you | What you are valued for | Low |
| Ask lost prospects why they chose someone else | Where the presentation fell short | Moderate |
| Review every channel as a stranger would | What a new buyer can actually see | Moderate |
| Compare your messages with competitors | Whether you sound different | Moderate |
Decide how you should be seen
Next, agree how the business should be perceived by the clients it most wants to win. This is a strategic decision, and it should be specific. Michael Porter’s observation in What Is Strategy? that competitive strategy is about being different applies directly. A position that could describe any competitor will not change how buyers see you.
Close the distance
With both pictures clear, the work is to close the distance between them. That usually means three things: messages that state clearly what the business does best and for whom, proof that supports those messages, such as comparable projects and recent reviews, and consistent presentation across every channel.
Most of this is sharpening rather than starting again. The business keeps the recognition it has earned and changes what holds it back. This is the core of what Zelexis does: understanding how a business is perceived, agreeing how it should be, and strengthening every channel to match.
A useful next step
Something to try this week.
Ask your three best clients one question, in their own words, why they chose you over the alternatives. Then read your website’s home page. If the reasons your clients give do not appear in the first screen, you have found the first thing to change.