As a small business, appearance is everything. Sure, customer service and the product provided is integral to succeeding, but first impressions count – as it does in life in general.
With that in mind, you should be searching for all of the ways that will make your business look as professional and smart as possible. You might already have an attractive logo and optimized social media accounts, but there is much more that can be done. Also, don’t think that looking more professional is all about aesthetics, either.
So, with all that considered, read on for some top tips to take your small business to the next level.
Use a dedicated phone and PO Box
Even though businesses are going further and further towards being based on primarily on the internet, this doesn’t mean you should dismiss the option of using a dedicated phone line. Plus, some people still like to chat the old-fashioned way, and this also means you don’t have to hand out your home phone number!
In a similar vein, looking into a PO Box is also something you should contemplate if you are expecting product returns and such.
Get your own domain and email
It might seem apparent, but a noticeable amount of small businesses simply rely on social media as their online presence. Well, that’s not exactly the ideal first port of call for those searching for your company – especially if said potential customers do not have any social media accounts for themselves.
As a result, you should definitely look towards investing in your own domain/website. This will also provide you with your own business email, which helps make you look more professional when contacting others.
Make your website look the part
15 years ago, you could have been forgiven for producing a website that was little more than a wall of text with a gradient background. These days, however, you have all the tools to craft a fancy-looking website without the need of a specialist web developer.
In terms of creating your own website, WordPress is the ideal starter kit for beginners. Not only is it easy to use; it comes along with essentially an endless amount of customizable options, and – thanks in part to it being the most popular web development tool on the market – there is also a wealth of helpful guides out there should you get stuck at any point.
Top tip: make sure to use high-quality images. Your site could have a responsive and fresh framework, but pictures will draw people in more than any efficient functionality could.
Smarten up your packaging
Although it might be overlooked as something that is not too important, the packaging for your products – should you be selling physical goods of course – leaves an impression on your customers.
Obviously, the packaging should keep all products sufficiently protected during transit, but its appearance also has plenty of scope for improvement. Address labels via a label maker is highly recommended, with LabelCity.com being one place that offers a wide range of such useful devices. Additional embellishments to your packaging include your logo via a stamp and supplying a leaflet with discount codes.
Planning for the Future
If you're a small business owner, you're probably always thinking about the future. Whether that's tomorrow, next week or 5 years down the road. Tony Robbins just released a 2020 Business Owner Mindset Report that shows most business owners believe they'll figure out what it's going to take to weather the future storms being faced, even if they don't have all the answers right now. I believe that's the key to successful business leadership. A positive mindset and understanding the need to be flexible and agile in both finding solutions and then implementing those solutions once you've identified the ones that are going to work for you and your organization.
The importance of being able to access websites comfortably from a mobile device has been really highlighted of late, ever since Google caused what is now jauntily referred to as '