How to create a professional image for your business

Often the most important difference between a growing vibrant business and a company that struggles year after year is image. Customers can perceive your company as a stable professional organization or a slipshod company that recently emerged from somebody’s garage. Your goal, as a small business owner, is to ensure that you’re building trust — and, therefore, repeat business — with your customers. Here are three simple ways to highlight your firm’s professionalism.

• Use the phone wisely. Often your first contact with a customer will be over the phone. Make that first impression count. You might be trying to calm an irate vendor or struggling to fix a computer problem, but your customer needs to feel he or she is your primary concern. Your tone with clients should be clear, pleasant, and concise. When returning a client’s phone call, leave your name, time of the call, phone number, and a clear but brief message. It’s also best to repeat your number slowly at the end of the message and let the customer know the best times to reach you.

• Get back to them — right away. How many firms lose business because they don’t respond to customer queries in a timely manner? Whether you’re providing complex price estimates or answering simple questions about your services, it’s best to shorten the gap between the customer query and your response as much as possible. Sometimes all that’s required is a call to let the customer know that you’re addressing the issue. Most people understand that businesses have competing priorities. What they don’t understand is business owners who don’t care enough to pick up the phone.
  

• Welcome them to the office. Whether you run an auto repair shop, a manufacturing company, or an insurance firm, your customers need to feel comfortable when they walk in the door. This means providing them with a friendly reception, a clean place to sit, and a pleasant atmosphere. Customers shouldn’t be subjected to foul language, office gossip, or unnecessary noise. The waiting room is also a great place to showcase your firm’s accomplishments and credentials.

If you’d like additional ideas about developing your firm’s image, give us a call.

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