One of the main aims of any small business or start-up will be to get your company out into the public arena. However, this is a process that has to be very carefully structured. You want to be the name on everyone’s tongues, but infamy is far more damaging to your reputation than obscurity. It’s important that potential clients and customers know who you are, but it’s even more important that they know you for all of the right reasons.
If you’re a small business trying to get yourself off the ground, here are three top tips to help you create a well-known and professional image for your SME.
Tip One: Create a Website
In today’s world, the internet acts as a conduit between companies and their customers. A huge amount of commerce takes place online, and it is a fantastic place for reputations to be built and refined. Most businesses will have a website, but it’s about more than just its creation. In order to reach your clients, your site needs to be search engine optimised. The aesthetics need to be clear, professional, and in line with the image that your brand is trying to craft. Online sales ought to be possible, and links to your other social media platforms should be included to make it more easily shareable. It’s important to update this website regularly to make sure that it’s useful to your customers.
Tip Two: Take Advantage of Social Media
Social media offers a fantastic marketing opportunity for savvy businessmen, and what’s more, it’s free. It’s a fantastic way to get your name out there. Use incentives such as discounts to encourage your existing customers to like your page and share it. Try to use your platforms as an extension of your website, showcasing stock, pushing onsite blogs and features, and directing people towards your site. It’s important that the tone and style of your media platforms is in keeping with that of your brand, but don’t be afraid to use them to engage with customers on a more personal level – after all, personality and professionalism don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Tip Three: Understand that Customer Service is Everything
As we mentioned earlier, being known for the wrong reasons is worse than not being known at all. The advent of the internet means that if you get things wrong, people will find out about it, so your customer service needs to be on form all of the time. This means ensuring that your employees are eternally polite, you use a reliable courier so that your deliveries are always on time and tracked, and that your products are up to standard.
If you can follow these three top tips, your enterprise will prosper.
