Tom Moseley - The User-Friendly Company

by Don Reynolds

Published 1997-09-01    Printer-friendly version

This breakout session met at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday September 23rd, 1997 in the Commodore South Room. Twenty people were in attendance.

The Personality of a Company

When Tom left TopSpeed to form his own company, he had to determine what kind of personality his company would have. Having done this successfully, and having received many compliments on his company's 'look and feel' Tom was happy to share some of his experiences.

Too many companies derive their corporate personality from other companies. Some have no idea of their company personality, or how to create one. Some don't trust that employees can convey a 'personality.' Some feel that if it works for Microsoft, it must be appropriate for them. Others feel it's safer and easier to be "stiff" and impersonal, since there's no risk.

Creating a corporate image.

Tom then discussed how to create a corporate image. Although a corporation is a legal entity, the corporate officers can and should define the company image. Employees usually do not participate in setting the image, though some training is required to communicate the corporate vision to them. It's important for employees to buy into the corporate image, especially if they have regular contact with customers. Consistent representation of the corporate personality is very important. A natural corporate image is easier to keep, easier to convey, and makes for more natural communication with your customers.

Some people are tempted to 'borrow' an image from a successful company. For example, there is the black tie approach like that of IBM a few years ago. There is the documentation style of Microsoft. While this may be safe, it hides the company, making it less distinguishable. Many people approach customers. You want to use all the ways possible to help them to remember you. While image won't make companies fail; it may help them to succeed.

Setting your own image

Setting your own image involves taking a risk. While you put your own personality into the corporate personality, be careful that your image does not convey a message you don't want conveyed. For example, if it is too stiff, you risk seeming impersonal and distant. If it too loose, you risk seeming unprofessional and 'too' goofy. One can be goofy and professional, however; too loose a corporate voice will be interpreted as unprofessional.

Your company voice is how you "talk" to your users. For many of your users, this is the first and only communication you'll have with them. Tom wanted his company to have a casual, yet professional look. While this may be appropriate for Tom, each company needs to determine what is appropriate for them. In Tom's case, co-authoring the Clarion for Dummies book helped in this process. Because there were two authors for the book, it was important that each write in such a way that, to the reader, it appeared as if there was only one. Tom asked how many people talk like their documentation. Tom has written his documentation so that his documentation 'sounds' like he talks.

Other aspects of your image

Other pieces are important in making up a corporate image. Critical artwork includes your logo, clip art and documentation artwork, your web site, brochures, and literature. Tom recommended finding one source of art and sticking with it. This provides a consistency to your image. Tom purchases art from ArtParts, a small California firm, who supply him with a disk each month of new artwork. Tom will post this source on his web site. However, using art from ArtParts is not as important as having a consistant look.

Dangers

Tom then reviewed some dangers in 'personalizing' your company. You must ensure that you never appear unprofessional. Check spelling and grammar on all communication from your company. When Tom finds a spelling error on the first page of sales literature sent to him, he sometimes throws it away, feeling that it is indicative of their quality. Tom recommended that we not deviate from an established image unless the image is inappropriate. You can use your image almost anywhere, even in a license agreement. He used the license agreement from The Moseley Group as an example. Tom said this was the best advertising tool he had. People who have heard his license agreement read to them, call him up requesting to know more information about his products.

The Moseley Group differs from Clarion Online

Tom then shared the corporate image of The Moseley Group. Their voice is casual, funny and irreverent. Their documentation is done in a 'Dummies' style (light-hearted). Artwork matches their image exactly. They use one font, Jester. Their phone image is personal, funny (when appropriate) and always helpful.

Clarion Online has a separate and distinct image. Its voice is more formal, yet not rigid. The voice of articles tends to be instructional. They font used is Arial. Because it is an Internet magazine artwork is almost exclusively screen shots.

Questions and Answers

After Tom's presentation, several questions were asked:

Question: What do you do to ensure new hires buy off on the corporate image?

Answer: This is best done during the interviewing process. New employees need to fit in to the existing corporate culture.

Question: How did you certify the legality of your legal document?

Answer: Tom sent it to his lawyer to review it.

Question: How does an employee make the corporate culture more user friendly?

Answer: This is hard to do from the bottom up, except in casual conversation.

Summary

A corporate culture needs to be carefully planned and executed. If wisely done, it will enable you to position your company in such a way that others will remember you. Doing this while maintaining a consistent level of professionalism will help your company to succeed.

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Clarion Magazine ISSN 1718-9942