Image is a crucial part of any enterprise, be it personal or professional. For businesses, a good image lends itself to more opportunities when networking, recruitment, investment and sales. Yet while a positive reputation can work wonders, it still won’t convince people that you’re a big and proper, well-established business with some professional know-how under your belt. People want to deal with an expert, not an amateur, and there's already a sort of etiquette established as to what signifies this. Thankfully, we've got you covered.
A professional email address
Business and marketing errors 101: don’t advertise an email address ending in Hotmail.co.uk or gmail.com (or @yahoo, or any other public email service). Anybody can make an email address like this, meaning you’ll be losing a professional trust signal if you use it as your point of contact.
Instead, use your website’s domain to make a custom address, and tailor each email address for a purpose. For enquiries try hello@yourbusiness or enquiries@yourbusiness.
A business number
Area codes at the beginning of telephone numbers can put people from other regions off, with them assuming you’re too far away to work with. Further, a home or mobile number as your primary telephone contact detail can undermine the legitimacy of your business – you could be anybody.
Believe it or not, even in the digital age, telephone communication is still a vital part of business - your social media comms isn't enough.
Acquiring a business number isn’t hard, in fact, we offer it ourselves.
A website that shows you're serious
You’d be surprised at how many businesses still try and get by on a website from the noughties (or before). Not only does a poorly designed website look unappealing, it risks visitors failing to navigate their way to your conversion points, harming your sales. On top of this, many older websites are perceived as less secure, and therefore much less likely for visitors to want to interact with.
The solution is simple – don’t skimp out on a robust website. Something that looks good and navigates well will make a big impact on the quality of your conversion rate. If you can’t get your hands on a developer to help build it for you, consider the various website themes available online.
An address that suits you
If you work from home, you might be concerned that your home address won’t convince people of your expertise. If you feel like your business address is holding you back and aren’t in a position to relocate any time soon, it might be worth considering a virtual office. This can provide you with a business address that’s more suitable for your ambitions.
Gain a respectable following on social media
How many people have over a million followers on Twitter? The same goes for Facebook likes (and Instagram, Pinterest, etc.). There's countless individuals now who have amassed huge social followings online that transform them from mere individuals online to 'influencers'. Whether we like to admit it or not, the size of a business's online following does affect how legitimate we perceive them to be.
You should already prioritise social media as part of your business's marketing, but know now that your performance on it will immediately impact your business image, so don't neglect it.
