Make your small business appear larger and more professional

No matter how small your business and how few staff you have, it’s important that you appear as large and professional as possible to customers, clients and consumers.

In a recent survey by a provider of reception services, members of the British public were asked to talk about any factors that influence their thoughts about businesses. The idea was to identify their opinions on branding and what makes a company seem professional when it comes to SMEs.

Online Presence

The information from the survey shows that consumers consider three major factors important regarding the professionalism of businesses:

1. Business website – two-thirds of respondents said that a well-maintained business website is vital for a professional brand image.
2. Social media presence – 38% of survey respondents consider a social media presence essential for companies to realistically compete with more established businesses.
3. Customer support – a third of respondents said that 24-hour customer support and automated answering are important to establish a bigger and more approachable business.

Other features that were flagged up as important to customers include a clearly visible registered corporate address and the use of 0800 phone numbers.

Supporting small business

The idea behind the research was to gather data to help support growth of small businesses. Commercial appeal cannot be underestimated when it comes to growing the outward face of a business. While small businesses may not have the kinds of resources available to larger companies, there are ways they can control their appearance to current and potential customers.

With a few key investments, even the smallest businesses and brands can begin to build workable profiles that can realistically compete with major corporations. This kind of presence is extremely important in today’s ultra-competitive business world, and particularly within sectors including law, finance and real estate.

Professional brand

Creating a professional presence that allows consumers to view your small business on a par with larger corporations is absolutely key to success in 2018 and beyond. Luckily, the steps needed to implement this do not need to be prohibitively expensive or out of range for small businesses.

Judicious use of social media channels along with regularly updated and optimised web content will go a long way to establishing your brand as credible and competitive.

The team at Turner Little has a lot of experience working with start-ups, small businesses and newly launched businesses in various sectors. For advice, help and assistance in how to ensure your SME is reaching the right people, sending out the right message and making full use of all brand opportunities, contact the team. We’d be happy to help.

About Turner Little

Founded in 1998 in Yorkshire, UK, Turner Little is a specialist UK and offshore company formation, banking and corporate services provider. Our services include company formation, UK and offshore banking, asset protection, credit correction/repair, trademarking and trusts. Other services include Internet services, mail forwarding, wills and probate. Turner Little’s vision is to offer the best possible service, together with market leading products.