How to Make Your Business Look More Professional

It’s never easy making your mark in the business world, especially when you’re a budding entrepreneur or a young start-up just finding your feet. With so many established competitors out there, creating your own noise and standing out from the crowd is mammoth task, presenting a hurdle that many fledgling businesses simply never make it over.

However, there are a few things to consider no matter which market you’re looking to enter. While some steps will require some further investment, putting money back in to a business is often the simplest way promote growth and long term, that extra capital may hopefully seem like a wise choice when profits start to climb as a direct result.

Invest In Your Website and Branded Email
In years gone by, this piece of advice might’ve been to get some business cards printed – but in this day and age, the internet is king. Often, the first contact with your business a potential client or associate is going to have is your website, and if they’re left with a bad impression, it isn’t good news for the first impression you’re giving out.

If you don’t look like a trustworthy, professional outfit, people are less likely to treat you like one. While this is far more to do with aesthetics and keeping up appearances than it is the actual function of your business, it remains an important consideration during the period in which you’re trying to establish yourself.

Additionally, it’s worthwhile ensuring your email is branded, and lines up with either your business name or website domain – even if that’s still linking through to a free inbox, not having that generic address in your correspondence makes a huge difference.

Consider Renting Office Space
Working from home is definitely a perk of running your own business, but when it comes to inviting clients over or holding internal meetings with colleagues, having the option to do so in a more traditional and professional office environment will help people take your business much more seriously.

It’s no longer the case that you need to rent out an entire building – or even a full floor of one – serviced offices are becoming an increasingly viable option across the country, with many great plans and offers available that include all of the essentials like internet and telephone connectivity bundled straight in.

Create A Dedicated Business Phone Number
While nobody wants to be taking work calls on their personal device, in times gone by, your only choices were either to surrender your number to both personal and business contacts or carry around two separate phones to entirely operate those aspects of your life.

Now, though, most new smart phones will come with the ability to hold two separate sim cards, allowing the same device to have two different contact numbers. Additionally, securing an 800 toll-phone number will highly increase the likelihood of people calling you back, which does justify the additional cost.

Up Your Social Media Footprint
It’s not enough to just have business accounts set up across the entire plethora of social media channels we have access to on a daily basis anymore – you actually have to use them and use them smartly. An account with low activity and poor figures is likely to put people off, and the easiest way to improve that is through regular, targeted use.

So, get familiar with the most popular hashtags in your field, interact back to those that engage with you and, if you’re lucky, you might just have stumbled across an easy, free to use marketing tool, increasing brand visibility and the likelihood of potential customers and clients finding you organically through their own social channels.