4 easy ways to make your business look more professional

If you are a small company hoping to make a name for yourself amidst a sea of competition, a great place to start is with solidifying your image.

It doesn’t take a lot to polish up your image and ensure that your company exudes a complete air of professionality at all times. Here we take a look at a few easy steps you can take to ensure you ensnare clients’ attention and never get overlooked for big contracts.

The devil’s in the details

Making a good impression upon customers and clients is paramount to the success of your business. Appearing trustworthy, established and experiences are all things that will appeal and encourage others to put their faith – and money – into what you do. Consequently, it is important to take steps to build this image: fear not, though, this can be easier than it sounds.

Copyediting

We all know the importance of using the right tone in our emails, yet all too often people let their spelling, grammar and punctuation let them down. It may sound simple, but taking the time to read through all of your communications with clients is imperative to check for mistakes before sending them out. Misspelling the name of your addressee is often cited as the number one small yet costly mistake businesses can make. Always be sure to check that the information listed on your website is up-to-date and equally error-free.

Business stationary

Having business stationary printed may at first seem like an unnecessary expense, but in fact it serves a number of important functions. For any company that regularly sends out invoices or letters to freelancers and clients, using a company letterhead will help to give you greater credibility and project your business image. What’s more, printing business stationary doesn’t necessarily have to be a costly outgoing – if you take a look online, you’ll find several companies offering great deals and options for customisation.

Email signature

Creating an email signature couldn’t be easier and yet there remains a significant number of small businesses who omit to use one. Your signature helps establish your corporate identity, giving legitimacy to who and what you are as a company. If part of your work involves cold emails, it is especially important to use a signature: not only does it immediately support the reason for your introducing yourself, but it can help ease fears you might be a scammer. With information such as your company address, telephone number, and website all freely listed, a recipient may feel more assured of the legitimacy of your operations.

Business cards

In this digital age many people have argued that there is no longer a need for the traditional business card. For us, however, there is yet to be anything that replaces the myriad uses and subtleties of a business card, and that’s why we still recommend it for small business owners. Discreet yet informative, a business card can be easily distributed and acts as a physical reminder of your interaction with someone. Although you don’t have to spend a lot getting them printed, make sure that they don’t look cheap as this will reflect poorly on your company. For more insights, check out this previous post for some top tips on business card etiquette and how to correctly exchange cards at meetings.