Small businesses are vastly important and valuable to a local economy. Perhaps more importantly, small businesses provide a livelihood for the owners and employees helping to keep that business afloat. One difficulty with maintaining a small business, however, is in weathering the competition from not only other small similar businesses, but in outdoing the major companies and corporations within your industry. You can keep pace with these big companies however, by ensuring that your small business has a strikingly professional image. There are a few different ways to build the professional image you need:
Be Connected
Make absolutely sure your clients, customers, and potential customers can reach you. Have a dedicated business phone number which always gets answered. If you receive a high volume of calls, consider outsourcing to a telephone answering service–this gives your business a great professional edge without a large financial investment.
Don’t just have a phone, have a business email to which inquiries can be directed. Make sure this is getting checked regularly and customers are receiving timely responses. Lastly, in today’s digital marketplace, you can’t be without accounts on a few major social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. Some time put into creating and maintaining these accounts can help spread your business reach, and also give customers even more ways to keep in contact with you.
Be Technology-Forward
As you engage with customers via social media platforms, your small business should also have a high-quality website. The majority of your potential customers are using the Internet to find information and to locate shops and businesses to meet their needs. Make sure you’re riding the wave of technology. It is an absolute necessity for a business to have a webpage in this era, so don’t get left behind. An outstanding web page will have a highly professional design, an appealing look, ease of navigation, and a plethora of information about your business: hour, location, available products & services, photographs, and even customer reviews. Your website should sell your business as well as you do in person.
Be Excellent
Being connected to the world and engaging with customers is vital to maintaining a successful business, but the most important element of success is excellence. No matter how fabulous your website and how reachable you are via a variety of channels, what will ultimately equal success is that you have a great product, offer a great service, and build a wonderful relationship with your customers. If you focus on offering something useful and necessary, your business stands a great chance of success. If you provide unmatched services at the highest level of quality, with a dedication to professionalism, hard work, and top craftsmanship, even better. The third tier of success involves that wonderful customer service. Creating loyal customers who are satisfied with your company time and time again will ensure you have a continued, prosperous business for years to come.
