139 ways to impact your reputation

Every way a person encounters your club is called a touch point.  Each touch point creates an impression of some sort, whether positive or negative.  And it's those impressions that define your brand.

This draws the difference between a logo and a brand into sharp focus, and it's worth repeating - "Your logo is the symbol you use.  Your brand is how others will describe you and your club to their friends."

What does this mean in practice?  Your club will have just one logo, but many different brands, each being the individual perception gained by every person touched by your club or your members.

By way of illustration, here are some opposing examples.  It's a warm day outside Bunnings, and your club's sausage sizzle is in full swing.  Your oldest member, a keen volunteer and resplendent in full Rotary regalia, is collapsed in a chair, dozing noisily with his mouth wide open.  "You know," says one customer, turning to another in the queue,"Rotary's just a bunch of old codgers, locked in the past with nothing better to do.  I've seen some of them outside Woolworth's flogging Christmas Puddings as well."

Meanwhile, down the road there's a Farmers' Market, and the local Rotary club are raising money by helping out with parking.  One of the volunteers (also in full club regalia) helps a shopper load their purchases into their car.  "You know," she says to her husband as she gets into the car, "these Rotarians are such nice people, so helpful. I will always help them out when I can."

Here are some ways that influence how your club in particular, and Rotary in general, might be thought of whenever a stranger encounters the particular touch point.

Where	Touch Point	How a potential member might talk about you
Club meeting	Venue	Clean, modern and worth visiting again Noisy, unkempt, worn out and unattractive - feels of desperation
	Meal	Well presented, tasty and satisfying Done on the cheap, poorly prepared and tasteless
	Speaker	Interesting, informative and really worth hearing. Boring, trying to sell me something, hard to understand All they did was preach Rotary
	Front Desk	Friendly, pleased to see me, welcoming  Asked for my name, introduced me straight away to another member All they wanted was my money.  Took it then ignored me
	Club Members	Friendly, welcoming, made me feel at home Happy, got on well with each other, warm and interesting Real friendly lot.  I think I'd like to join. I felt like an intruder, nobody noticed me It felt as if their hearts weren't in it All they seem to do is drink! I couldn't hear the speaker through all the chatter at my table Too busy talking to each other - I could have left and nobody would have noticed
	Meeting itself	Well run, organised but not too formal Started late, poorly run, everybody talking at once The President turned up late then ran around trying to organise everybody Quaint, pompous and archaic - lots of toasts and mutual backslapping Obviously for members only - they don't seem to like visitors  Using the club to do business
Fundraiser (such as at a stall, sausage sizzle, parking attendance)	Location	Near the entrance, lots of passers-by Tucked away in a corner somewhere, practically invisible
	Products	Those rissoles were delicious.  I'm going back for more! I usually like sausages, but they were half-cooked and the onions were cold
	Service	Prompt, friendly and efficient Surly, off-hand and slow
	Club Members	Friendly, happy to explain why they're there Enthusiastic, made me feel like their friend Aloof, don't want to chat even when they're not working
	Signage	Nicely printed, professional look - I can see it's a Rotary thing  Several signs or banners around the stall I had to ask three different people before I was told why they were raising funds. A well-worn handwritten chalk board - hard to see and barely legible
Event (such as an sporting event, memorial lunch, art show, car show, requiring tickets)	Pre-event promotional material	Professionally designed and presented brochures and posters Draw-card speaker, entertainer or personality Event has its own website or, at least, a dedicated page on your club website Event is promoted in newsletters that go to non-members Your event is actively promoted by your sponsors Photocopied brochures that have been produced using Word, Publisher or PowerPoint No reference to the club's website and online booking The sponsor is so dominant that your club is invisible The brochures or signs are cluttered, poorly designed or use dated designs You rely on emailing PDF files that people are unable or can't be bothered to open You use personal phone numbers and email addresses to take bookings Correspondence and brochures with spelling and grammatical errors
	Booking process	You offer online booking through your own website Bookings are confirmed immediately they're made Reminders are sent to attendees Thank-you's are sent to attendees after the event. Booking can only be done via printed forms that must be posted, faxed or scanned and sent to an individual member Bookings are not confirmed There is no online booking facility Bookings are made by phoning a member's mobile phone, or via email to a free gmail address
	Event	You have a list of attendees and welcome them by name Reception is manned People at reception are friendly and welcoming The event runs smoothly, obviously well organised The event starts or finishes late Attendees who come to enjoy themselves are instead "mugged" by Rotary evangelists
	Club Members	Friendly and engaging - I met some great people I look forward to seeing again  Told me about a speaker I'd like to hear, and invited me to their next meeting They all sat together and talked Rotary amongst themselves Members are noisy or obviously drunk
	Signage	Club banners are present, clearly associating your club with the event and with guests having a great time No mention of it being a Rotary or club event
Project (such as neighbourhood cleanup, school refurbishment, clinic fit-out.  Frequently involving non-member volunteers)	Project	Meaningful and relevant to your local community A cause that motivates non-members to rally behind it Personal indulgence of one member to do something nobody cares about
	Club Members	Excited, enthusiastic, obviously having fun Standing around chatting to each other, disinterested
	Marketing	Publicised on your club website and social media  Publicised in your local newspaper  Promoted by other community groups
	Signage	Club banners are present, clearly associating your club with the project that the community can get behind No mention of it being a Rotary or club-facilitated project
Passer-by (such as a work colleague, shop assistant, fellow spectator, who gets to know you're a Rotarian)	Club Members	Wearing your Rotary pin  Being able to explain Rotary in a few words - and make it sound rewarding and exciting Inviting friends and colleagues to club meetings  Inviting friends and colleagues to participate in community projects Being proud of your club and of being a Rotarian  Inviting friends and colleagues to club events Bad-mouthing fellow Rotarians  Behaving contrary to the four-way test  Preaching "Rotary" as if it were some alternative religion
On line (website, social media where content is identified as being Rotarian or representing a Rotary initiative)	Design	Modern, mobile-friendly Dated, obviously home-made
	Content	Interesting stories that are relevant to non-Rotarians Frequently changing content  Images and content that illustrate what your club does, rather than talk about it  Happy, cheerful and inviting images and content  Images that clearly identify you as part of your community  Content that's never out of date  Uses current year's Rotary theme Self-congratulatory images of Rotarians doing Rotary things  Content that hard-sells Rotary  Cliches, Rotary jargon and Rotary acronyms  Promoting past events, meetings, projects and activities  Broken links and missing images
	Performance	Fast response, short download times Easy to find on Google for searches other than Rotary or your specific club's name Large images that are slow to download  Behind-the-scenes links to third party plug-ins Using a (often free) platform that uses poor technology
Correspondence	Letters	Professionally designed, full colour  Shows club contact details, refers to website  Includes current Rotary logo and theme in designated colours and fonts Photocopies of old letterheads  References to officers who are no longer in the role  Typographical and grammatical errors
	eMail	Has standardised signature footer, referring to your club  Uses role-based club email address, such as secretary@myclub.org.au Email footer has links to your club website Reply address is to a member's private mailbox  Reply address is to a generic non-club mailbox such as gmail
Newsletters & Bulletins	Newsletters (written for non-Rotarians)	Fresh interesting stories, particularly those that recipients want to pass on to their friends or social media contacts Stories that are relevant and interesting to non-Rotarian readers. Stories written from a journalistic perspective rather than a Rotary perspective Able to be read on all devices, including mobile phones  Recipients are time poor - content can easily be scanned in a few seconds  Lots of links back to your website Contains Rotary messages written by Rotarians for other Rotarians Preaches Rotary or uses "rotary-speak" Excessive selling or soliciting donations. Distributing attachments Poor spelling, poor grammar and poor journalistic style No links to your club website Newsletter only readable on one or two specific mail systems Harassing readers - not respecting recipients' privacy or their wish to be removed from your mailing list Excessive content that takes a long time to read
	Club bulletins (written for members)	Catchy items relating to your club Information on club successes and achievements Recognition of members' contributions  Notification of coming events and projects Useful information such as rosters for forthcoming meetings and events Rotary preaching, member admonishments

What's interesting about all the different ways you can create a great impression and therefore reputation for your club is that they're mostly free or very low cost. It takes almost the same effort to create a positive image as it does to create a poor one.

It's up to your club as to whether you invest in building a good reputation that engages people and potential members, or whether it puts them off, convinced that Rotary is to be avoided.