[epub] UTOTD: 6 Ways to Enhance your Credibility as a Small Business

[Ravi Jayagopal <ravi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Copyright (C) Ravi Jayagopal. All rights reserved.
mailto:Ravi@BabyNamesIndia.com for Reprint rights.


UTOTD: Unsolicited Tip of the Day ;-)

** 6 Ways to Enhance your Credibility as a Small Business **

In the level playing field created by the web,
it is possible for small businesses - even one-man shows -
to look and act like a large(er) business.

Though it is not true that people trust and buy only from
large businesses, it always helps to show your customers
that you are a professional outfit and not a scam artist
running a fly-by-night business who will disappear
with their hard-earned money.

Here are 6 ways in which every small business can enhance
its credibility and make it look bigger and more
professional:

1. Have a professional looking (if not world class)
web site -
Thousands of articles have already been written about
'why' you need one, and what will happen if your site
reeks of unprofessionalism with loud colors, blinking text,
scrolling marquees and scrolling status bars :-)
So, I won't go there in this article.


2. Get an 800 number:
Not that it 'really' matters, but this will make you
look like a business which is ready to invest some
extra bucks in something as trivial as a 800 number
just to help your customers save a few cents/dollars.
It will show some that 'you care'.


3. If you use your home number for business, set up
professional "Hello, you've reached Your-Business-Name"
voice mail messages, instead of "Hi, You've reached John
at..." which immediately gives away the fact that you are
operating from home. Though there is nothing wrong with that,
why give your potential customer any kind of doubt about
your credibility.


4. Use a proper mailing address rather than a PO Box
address. Again, some people may argue that publishing your
home address on your web site could be a cause for security
concern, but you've got to admit that security is an issue
for your customer too!

View this from your visitor's perspective - How comfortable
will you be revealing your credit card info on a site that
publishes a POBox address!

Your publishing a PO Box address on your site - which means
reluctance to display your 'actual' address - can be
interpreted by your visitor in negative ways - which may
result in your losing a valuable sale from someone who
really wanted your product, but didn't end up buying
because they were not sure who or where you are!

If you *have* to use a MailBoxesEtc kind of address for
some reason, at least make sure you use a Suite # instead.
I've heard that in some states, it might be illegal to use
a Suite #. So, verify that information before publishing one.


5. Spend a little on your business cards
If you are really serious about your business, then you
should use 'reasonably' professional looking business cards.
Your business card is pretty much your first salesperson -
which means your first contact with your potential customer -
in many situations.

A professional looking business card can be used in
a variety of places - like at the Supermarket bulletin
board, various community boards at schools, day cares,
barber shop, at work, and so on.

Imagine this:
After striking up a conversation with someone sitting
next to you on a plane, train or while waiting at the
doctor's, and then giving them your business card.

If you gave them a crappy looking card,
your credibility straightaway goes down the drain.


6. Don't Intimidate them
Even if you own the business, there are some situations when
calling yourself the Director, Sales Manager, Public
Relations Officer or something at that level, instead of the
more imposing/intimidating titles like President, Chairman,
Founder or CEO, will give your new aquaintance a better
chance to warm up to you and know a few things about
your business.


If you get a chance to talk long enough, you can always
subtly mention at a later point that you are also the owner
of the company. Saying it later, than earlier, would
increase their responsiveness to your subtle 'sales message'
about your business and what you do.

Please do not blindly apply these tips to your business.
There are situations when you need to work around them.

For instance, if you're trying to get an appointment with
the CEO/Executive of a big company, then your card which
says you're the CEO or President has a much better chance
of getting noticed than a card which says you're the
'Sales Manager'.

You always need to think and adapt stuff to what works and
what doesn't work for you and how much or how limited
your budget is.

After all, there is no 'one size fits all' in Business -
or anywhere else for that matter.

Regards,

Ravi Jayagopal
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