Who is the face of your company? Is it you, the owner? Your C-level staff?

The real face of your company is the front-line employee that your customers deal with. It’s the uniforms that your staff wear. It’s the highly-visible company truck that they drive. 

These are your company’s public persona. They’re the part of your business that’s hardest to miss.

So wouldn’t it make sense to take some time to make them awesome?

Let’s Talk Uniforms

Whether you own a construction business, an IT company, or a retail store, customers will see your employees. That means that choosing the perfect uniform for them to wear will make an impact on your customer base. The right uniform can…

• Improve brand awareness. Everyone knows the red-shirted Target employee or the green-aproned Starbucks barista. Your company uniform is another component of your brand 一 do take advantage of it. Your employees are essentially walking ads for your company!

• Increase consumer trust. Imagine that you’re waiting for a plumber to come to your house to fix a leaky pipe. You hear the doorbell ring, and there’s a guy in a T-shirt and jeans at your door. You’re not even sure, at first, that it’s your plumber. Once you are, you’re nervous that you should have chosen a different company…

• Boost employee confidence. In a great uniform, a mediocre employee feels like a million bucks. That translates into improved employee performance.

• Eliminate dress code issues. It can get sticky when you have to give negative feedback to employees about unprofessional or inappropriate dress. Having a uniform can eliminate many of these awkward conversations, as well as any drama that follows.

Choosing the Best Uniform

But how can you make sure that you’re choosing the best uniform? Think carefully, and consider the following before making your final choice.

Will it stand out? The uniform should be unique enough to differentiate your employees from customers. And to catch the eye… in all the right ways, of course.

What level of attire should it be? Would business formal be appropriate? Business casual? Or just casual?

What color should it be? You’ll generally want your uniforms to match your brand colors. If you’re on the fence, though, think of which colors best represent your brand. Bright colors? A more natural palette? Also, think about whether the uniform will look clean and presentable after a day at work. Chef whites, for example, look extremely professional, but may not be practical if they will be in full view of customers in a messy kitchen environment.

What material should it be? Synthetic materials are cheaper, but cotton is more comfortable and breathes better. If your employees will be braving the elements, you’ll need to take that into account too.

Does it fit my brand identity? This is the most important question to ask. You want your uniform to align with your existing branding.

Giving Your Trucks a Pick-Up

Uniforms are seen most by people who are already at your place of business. People all around town will see your business vehicles, though, so don’t lose out on a great marketing opportunity! Whether you’re a plumber, a realtor, or a pizza restaurant that delivers… wrapping your vehicle in an eye-catching and unique design can go a long way towards building your brand.

Ready to find the perfect wrap for your company vehicles? If so, be creative! Be bold! And keep these questions in mind:

What does your company stand for? As the most important question on this list, this one is crucial to get right. Make sure that your truck wrap is visually showing what your company has to offer, in a single glimpse. This Lunch Box food truck below pulls this one off well, since its offerings are good old-fashioned food that your mom might have made for you, and its wrap makes it look like an old-fashioned metal lunch box! 

Can you catch their eye with an optical illusion? If you want a passel of busy commuters to spare a glance at your vehicle and be curious enough to actually read what it says, you’ll have to catch their eye first. An optical illusion is a great way to do that. From the seemingly transparent tailgate (hint: it’s really just part of the wrap) to the squeezed section of the bus, the possibilities are endless if you’re creative enough.

Can you use humor to be memorable? A great pun or slogan (like “Live life on the veg”) is another excellent way to catch the eye. Similarly, the Specsavers truck below combines humor with an optical illusion, emphasizing the importance of high-quality glasses!

Can you catch their eye with a bold color scheme? Avoid a bland white background if possible, and opt instead for some eye-catching colors. If possible, have the colors relate to your brand; for example, the blue of a plumbing van can represent water from a faucet, and the green of this “Leap Forward Academy” vehicle is the obvious choice for the company’s frog mascot.

Can you showcase your product? Some of the best vehicle wraps can show off your company’s product itself, in all its glory. The Mars and Wrigley’s trucks below look almost good enough to eat.

Start thinking of the different aspects of your company that people see. Maybe that means your company’s storefront, the delivery boxes that sit on people’s front stoops, or even your product’s website. Some industries have more specific areas they can improve; for example, if you have a landscaping company, think about the mowers that your employees use and how you can make them more eye-catching. Make sure that when people look at anything that represents your company, they are seeing your brand at its best.

This is Part 1 in the Stand Out! series about how to make every single aspect of your company stand out. This post examines how to make the “face” of your company—in the form of uniforms and truck wraps—stand out in a positive way. Part 2 will focus on your company’s physical location, and Part 3 will focus on your product and all its enhancements.