How to appear established locally, nationally and internationally
Your ‘little startup’ is going through a growth phase. It’s an exciting and challenging time for your business. To your clients, you need to appear as if you have all your ducks in a row, but really, we understand the difficulties that companies often face when expanding.
Expanding your business means getting rid of perceptions around a startup. Maintaining a professional image is vital when establishing your business, whether locally, nationally or internationally. a professional image is vitally important.
6 Ways your business can appear more professional
Here are small but effective ways to get you started:
Update your website
If your company is growing, then your web presence needs to reflect this. Perhaps growth simply means a new department, but convey the info to your client. Updates keep your clients in the loop, and feeling like they count. Regular updates may well also attract new clients.
If you don’t have a website, now is the best time to create one. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but should include the basics:
- Who you are
- What you do
- Business address
- Telephone number
- Office hours
Potential clients will likely search for your website before calling you. So, keep your website current and reflecting your comprehensive offering, in as concise a way as possible.
Email addresses
If you’ve been using one email address - perhaps the standard info@ - then it may be time to expand on email domains as well. This means providing staff with designated addresses and then set up separate email addresses for customer support, or for inquiries about specific services or products.
The problem with a single info address is that while everything is all in one place, it’s easy for important emails to get lost in the noise. Designating email addresses means that the right emails go to the right people.
Business numbers
Having clients call you on your mobile phone may have worked during the startup phase, but with business growth, you need to appear more professional and established. This means switching to a business number. And it’s not complicated.
Before the digital age, having extra phone lines installed was a task that could take days. However, new virtual services ensure that the process is up and running within minutes. Now, with a virtual switchboard, clients will be greeted with a warm welcome message and have an options menu that will allow them to transfer to the right people. And, you don’t need to have someone physically handling the switchboard.
You also have options like call forwarding and diverting, to divert all phone calls to any device you select, should you be out of the office for the day.
Digital presence
Along with your web presence, you need to be reasonably active on social media. These days, social media is an integral part of digital marketing, increasing awareness of your brand, and helping to generate leads Posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can also be used to let people know what your business is about. Don’t let your social media channels lie stagnant; you’ll be closing yourself off from potential new business.
You don’t have to be present every second of the day. There are automation tools that you can use to schedule social media posts for the week or month to come.
Professionalism
When one hears startup, it’s assumed that your business has that laid back environment. As you expand, the idea is to shake off this notion. Professionalism in the workplace will reflect on the service you provide. Growing your business means that following procedures and policies is necessary.
This doesn’t mean turning your workplace into a ‘policed state’, but rather ensuring that quality assurance measures are in place. A precedent should be set for how your staff interact with customers, both on the phone or online.
Testimonials
What’s the best way to get new clients to trust you? Through current clients. Testimonials on your website will let everyone know how efficient you are, and how you operate. Marketing material may well showcase how well you conduct business, but a good word shared by existing clients is invaluable.
Create a survey to send to your current client base. This works well because not only will you discover how you’ve been seen to provide a service to your clients, but you’ll also learn which areas of your business can improve.
Your Virtel-UK checklist
Virtel-UK provides virtual phone numbers, so that you can create a virtual presence.5 Be available to your clients, local, national or international. Virtel will set you up so that all your calls are forwarded to landlines, fax lines, mobile phones, or use VoIP.
We provide you with the following services to help get you started:
The dmConnect package allows you to have a business-grade virtual UK number forwarded to your existing landline phone, mobile or fax, or use VoIP. Once you’re registered, you can choose where you would like the calls to be forwarded to, by logging in online and entering your preferred existing phone number.
Now, when your clients call, the call will be forwarded to the number you specified on the online control panel. You can change the destination divert any time, free of charge. dmConnect works with geo/local area and national number ranges.
Call-forwarding, voicemail, and call hunting
This service offers call-forwarding to mobile phones and landlines. If you’re unable to take a call, the system will take a message for you. Voice messages can be emailed to you as an mp3 file.
This requires no hardware and is a cost-effective solution for all your call handling. Clients can access the department, and specifically the people they are looking for, using the keypad. This, instead of using valuable staff time to locate the right person or the right department.
While expanding your business may be a challenge, we’re here to ensure you’re always accessible to your clients during this time. Your new number can be set up within minutes, and activated immediately on registration. Contact us today to discuss all your expansion needs.