Impressions are important in business, and whilst you might feel confident in the service or products you provide, it can be difficult to generate business when you’re starting out small. Whatever sector you’re in, clients, partners and customers want to know that they are dealing with professionals they can trust. But it can be hard to keep up appearances when you’re working in the spare room at home. However with a few expert tips and tricks, you can make your business look bigger than it is, and soon you’ll be moving into bigger shoes for real.
Create/Improve Your Website
Nowadays, everyone expects a credible business to have its own website. If your clients and customers can’t find you online, they’re unlikely to make any further effort to find out more about you. Even if you build your own website on a free platform, spend some time crafting an online presence that can showcase your products and services. Ideally, back this up with testimonials and case studies that will show you’ve got the experience to match.
As you grow, consider putting some of your profits back into the business to invest in a professionally made website, as well as marketing materials that will give prospective clients and customers a great first impression.
Inbound and Virtual Numbers
You might be running your business from your mobile or home landline, but nobody else needs to know that. Establishing a virtual number is a cost-effective way of boosting your brand image, by providing a local city number that will then redirect calls to your real number. A virtual number service will also help you generate useful statistics about your business telecoms, and manage your incoming calls with features such as a dedicated voicemail and queuing functions.
Virtual Office
When putting together your ‘contact us’ page, you’ll also want to include an address. But do you really want to disclose your home address for the world to see? Besides, 123 Brooklyn Crescent doesn’t sound like the offices of an established business. If you’re a freelancer or start-up, you may want to consider investing in a virtual office before you take the plunge with an actual one.
This will provide you with an official postal address in a central town or city location, where you can collect your mail and even hold meetings when you need to meet a client. So you can enjoy the appearance of a big business, whilst still taking advantage of the spare room and comforts of home for your daily activities.
Dressing your business up to be bigger than it actually is can help you attract new and exciting opportunities that will allow you to grow. These cost-effective ways to improve your brand image can generate a huge return on investment, so you can evolve from a freelancer or start-up to the established business you want to become.
Have you any more tips for our readers? Comment below and share your wisdom now.
This article is written by Kelly Gilmour Grassam, a freelance copywriter from Yorkshire. You can follow her on Twitter at @KellygGrassam. This article has been written with helpful information from OptionBox.