Having the business is only a part of running a business. It is important to play the part and present a professional image as an individual and as a businessman/woman. Here are some of the things you do when starting a business to improve your image.
One: Business Cards
Business cards allow clients to know who you are and have a clear indication of your business. They are often an introduction for consumers to your business and brand. The human mind works in interesting ways where the sight of a business card can create a sense of professionalism. People instantly take you more seriously at the mere sight of a business card. They are not expensive to have printed and you may find the only pricy part is getting them professionally designed.
Two: Social Media
Social media is a business’s best friend. Social Media is a free form of marketing that can benefit businesses beyond belief. Consumers seeing your business, product, and brand in action means they become more invested in who you are as a company and service. It can be a fickle marketing tool at times but it is important to have a presence on the platform in order to connect with clients and be a part of the age of sharing. If someone likes what you do, they could share it with a friend and so it goes. This form of marketing is free and can be extremely beneficial. For more on marketing, click here.
Three: Website
A website is possibly one of the most recommended parts of Online Presence. As human beings, we are obsessed with the online world. If you run a restaurant, guaranteed someone is looking you up online to see your menu and other details. If you are a business that provides services someone will want to look you up for prices and a list of those services. Websites cut out the middle man; nobody wants to deal with the same stupid questions every day, a website means that information is there for them already.
Ensure you get a professional website designer who will not overcharge you for their services. If you are a store look into e-commerce as it could be another method of revenue.
Four: Professional Email and Email Signature
A website is important and from owning your own .com, .org, .net and such you are able to create an email address that is linked to your domain name. This sets off a professional tone because unfortunately while G-Mail is great it belongs for personal use, not business use. Email addresses mean you are the real deal, you have taken the time to do the job right.
Email signatures are a solid picture at the bottom. It acts as a digital business card with the mailer’s details and business details. Often it also has links to social media accounts and the website itself. These, like business cards, need to be designed to fit the image of your business. If you are a law firm you would not include food and cooking utensils on your business card or email signature as they do not match the business and its services.
Five: Uniform
Casual dress attire can be great but sometimes people forget what is professional. Unfortunately, there are always one or two people who take things too far with outlandish work attire. Uniforms can be good for businesses to represent a uniformed image and not have conflicting images in the same environment. It does not even have to be direct uniforms. Lawyers all tend to wear suits but the colors of those suits vary. However, they were a somewhat suggested uniform none the less.
Six: A dedicated phone number
NEVER use your personal number as a means for every customer to communicate with the business. Invest in a phone, a landline. The reason for this is that you do not have the time to answer every single call and that is the point of employees is that they are there to help. They can’t help if you use your cellphone to talk to customers. You also risk losing customers due to inappropriate behavior on personal phones, like the way you answer the phone, long personal calls meaning clients can’t connect to you and more.
Well, there you have it. Now you have no excuse but to play the part.
