Here are some ways you can give people a great first impression of your business:
Build a dynamic website
Do you know what happens if people click onto a slow, boring and dull website? They click back off again! Don’t let this happen to you. It’s called bounce-back rate and means that potential customers click onto your site but then bounce back off again. Not only does this reduce the potential for sales or business, but it is also bad for your ranking on sites like Google. High bounce-back rates tell Google that many people think your site is not worth visiting. This means that your listing will appear further down the page when people search for you, or keywords related to you. Instead, build a website that will entice customers to stay longer and explore.
Give your staff personality
A great way to showcase your brilliant staff is through photographs on your website. This gives them a personality and gives your company ‘a face’. This might make potential clients feel like your organisation is more warm and welcoming. It also helps build trust. Underneath you could have each person share something about themselves. It might be their nickname at school or the first place on their travel bucket list. You could even replace current photos with baby photos if it fits your brand.
Hire a reputation management company
Reputation management companies do exactly what they say on the tin. Manage your reputation! This article lists four great companies who do exactly this. If possible, find one who specialise in your industry. That way, if a great controversy does befall you, you have support. Hiring help ahead of anything happening is advisable. Reputation management needs to be done as quickly as possible after the event occurs. If you need to spend time bringing a company on board if something happens, you’ve missed the best window of opportunity.
Remain professional on social media
Increasingly, people are posting negative and unkind things on social media networks. This trend is now known as trolling. Whatever your business offers or provides, you’re at risk too. This is because trolls don’t care who they are saying bad things too, just that they get a reaction. Don’t rise to it. Remain friendly and professional. It will catch them off-guard, and they will likely move onto another target. If you engage them in an argument, things could blow up and reflect badly on your company.
Enter awards
Not all awards come knocking. For some of them, you have to submit yourself for consideration, as well as some of your best work. Doing so puts you in the running. After all, you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket! This is a similar principle. Enter yourself into some different awards, especially for projects that did particularly well.
If you have the staff, you could assign a specific member of your team to look after this. Usually, this kind of task falls to the marketing department.
Winning isn’t the only aim, though. Once you’ve put yourself forward, you might get shortlisted as a finalist. This in itself is a big honour. If shortlisted, your company will likely be invited to attend a formal awards ceremony. This might come in the form of a dinner or a drinks reception. Whichever it is, these events are fantastic opportunities to network. You can even check out the other competition. Even if you don’t win, you have a finalists award to be proud of, and might have found a new client or staff member in the process.
Display your achievements with pride
“If you’ve done it, it ain’t bragging,” Walt Whitman famously said. If you, your team and your business have received recognition for your hard work, make it known. If you have a reception, this is the perfect place to display your awards, achievements and certificates. Go for quality frames, to live up to the content of what is displayed inside. The makers of
Jansen Display A4 Snap Frames, for example, are so confident in their product that they offer a 12-month warranty.
If you don’t yet have your own reception, hang and display your awards in your office. That way, whenever people come in for meetings, they can see them. They also act as a great talking point. If a client asks you about the award, don’t brush it off. Let them see how proud you are; they’re sure to be impressed.
Also, be sure to mention any awards or achievements on social media. This might be on your Twitter feed, or through your Facebook account.
Court the media
Whether it’s a national news channel or the local newspaper, be courteous to the media. If you’re launching a new business, the local paper might want to cover your story. This can mean big business if it reaches a good circulation of those living in your local area. And, like the photographs on your website, gives you and your business a real personality.
Journalists can be quite intrusive from time-to-time. Remain professional and courteous; you never know when you might need them in the future.
If you’re anxious, ask for copy approval. This means that the publication has to show you exactly what they plan to print before they do so. You then have the right to request changes.
Once the piece is published, help it along. Link to it on your social media and in your email blasts, and encourage your staff to share it too.
If you currently reside in a less-than-attractive office space and have the funds, make upgrading a priority. First impressions really count in business. If an important potential client turns up at an office that looks attractive, it will make a difference. This means that it should be in a safe and well-lit area. Parking is also preferable. Both the inside and the outside should be kept clean and well-maintained. This means no piles of post on the floor by the door, and no cobwebs on the windows.
If you can manage your office well, people will think you can manage the rest of your business well. It also makes a more enjoyable space for staff to work in.