Foundations

When you are running a business it’s important to have credibility with your customers. If your business looks unprofessional customers will be put off. Here are a few easy ways to promote a professional appearance.

The number one thing that works for standard operations, whether you’re selling retail, running a restaurant or operating a service based business, is to keep your storefront clean and tidy. The less dust, the less clutter, the better. Even if you are running a mechanical shop people still tend to judge the business operation on what they can see. Because of this you should insist that anywhere a customer can see should be cleaned and organized daily, more often if needed.

The best way to look professional is through great customer service. Customer service goes far beyond greeting your customer with a smile. Depending on the type of business you are in you should possibly follow-up orders or services with a friendly phone call or e-mail, you should always remain courteous and kind, you should answer the phone with the business name and your name, you should possess business cards so customers can call you with questions, you should limit personal frustrations and ranting when dealing with difficult customers and you should always be honest with your customer. Of course if you own a business you already know all that. The problem is, are your employees following through with your customer service protocol? If you fear that customer service is lacking when you’re gone you may hire a secret shopper. Knowing who is helping and who is hindering your company are pivotal to your success.

For e-commerce businesses you can increase your professional appearance by setting up a 1-800 number, using a PO Box, creating catalogs, displaying all security badges on every page, offering shipping, return and privacy policies from every page of your website, offering great content that is relevant to your site, allowing customers to order in a number of ways, sending confirmation e-mails after and order is placed, running a well designed yet easy to use website.

With little to no money or effort you can display a professional appearance that is sure to have your customers returning.   

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