If you want to stand out in a crowded market, every detail counts. Being viewed as professional and trustworthy is a big challenge for startups. Your brand is the look and feel of your business and it’s the element that sets you apart from your competitors. Making your company look more professional will boost your sales and get to increase in clients.
There is no reason to look small – even if you are. Get yourself more organized, separate personal engagements from professional business, take necessary action so you can turn your startup into a real success. In turn, this will ensure your customers, clients and business associates take you more seriously. The following tips will help you build a professional outlook for your startup:
Create an attractive website
In today’s digital age, having a web presence is essential as its a reflection of your business. Nowadays, websites are not expensive to design and investing in a professional-looking site is crucial as it provides your business the visibility needed. The website should look presentable, easy to navigate and user-friendly, coupled with the presence of high-quality content.
A website resembles a virtual business card that one can access at any time, making it a critical customer interaction point. More so, you might also find other professionals in your field who might be interested in working with you. In addition to having a website, you need to be sure it’s always available and fast, and there is no better way to do that than to invest in web monitoring and log management tools.
Branded email address is a must
Sure, Yahoo or Gmail will work just fine for emailing your friends or family, but when it comes to your business, you want professional and consistent branding. A dedicated business email tells a lot about how people perceive your business. It’s not only just a branding technique but also conveys a sense of security and credibility to potential customers.
Get a dedicated email address that matches your business domain name. Online service providers like Google Apps for Business and Office 365 for business offer business emails with 99% uptime and are very affordable. Also, startups may look bigger when they invest in multiple branded email addresses to cater for separate segments of the business. This leaves the impression and outlook of a multi-departmental organization.
Establish a social media presence
Many people are using social media nowadays. If you want your business to look professional, you must be active in all kinds of social media platforms. Creating an account is easy, but for a startup to thrive in a socially connected world, it’s essential to engage and interact with the customers. Invest in building connections as opposed to investing money.
By joining different platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, you can share promotions and news with your clients. Consequently, this will make you known in the virtual space. You can also run promotions or contests to attract more customers and grow your business. So long as you do it right, a strong social media presence will definitely help you build real relationships with more customers and clients.
Use a business address
It’s all about the separation of personal from professional life. If for instance, you’re running your business from home, then it may be inconvenient to use your home address. Creating a separate business mail address that suppliers and customers can use, without giving away where you reside is recommended. Also, there is a guarantee of the safety and security of the packages you receive.
You could also take a step further and use mailboxes or UPS stores that will provide you with a standard street address that you can use to receive mail. Another upside of having an actual address is the fact that it’s appealing to your customers and local community and thus increases customer loyalty.
The bottomline
Starting a new business is not always easy. You don’t need to have everything figured out to take a leap of faith in yourself. Taking these simple steps will help you build a professional outlook for your startup on the right footing.