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Everyone wants to be taken seriously, and have a professional appearance. Over my time in business, I’ve seen a ton of little things that make a big impact. I’m going to share the top thirteen things you can do to majorly boost your professional appearance. Let us know if you didn’t think of something on this page, or if I missed anything!
1. Website
A website is the backbone of your online presence. It is vital to SEO, search engine optimization. It is often times, one of the first things a customer will see about your business. First impressions mean everything, so you want to make sure that the design and user experience of your website is up to par. All of the content and images on your site should represent the company and what the company stands for. We provide web design services with a free one hour consultation.
2. Professional Email
A professional email refers to an email address that ends with your domain name. Most of the time I see companies have an email that ends with @yahoo.com or @gmail.com. These don’t have the same impact as seeing, for example, “team@blueshiftwebservices.com”. It keeps your business name visible, and keeps them associated with your website. If you still want the feel of webmail, you can purchase G Suite which will enable you to use all the functionality of a gmail account, including Google Drive, Google Photos, and Google Calendar. We can set this up for you, if you need.
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3. Email Signature
Having an email signature boosts visibility and consistency among your email threads. You can put your contact information (or your employee’s), your social media links, as well as your logo! This builds brand recognition, professional appearance, and the ability to share your social media links regularly. You can build one yourself, or have us design an email signature for you!
4. Business Cards
This is a no-brainer. Business cards are one of the first things you think about when starting a company. I personally love Moo.com for business cards. We’ve used both the luxury and the matte. I suggest having both, and using the luxury for specialty events.
5. LinkedIn Company Profile
Having a company profile on LinkedIn is also a no-brainer. This is a free tool that adds a layer of legitimacy to the company. It’s also a great tool for B2B companies.
6. Branded Materials
Having branded materials is great. This shows that you take pride in the company. There are many, many ideas out there for things you can brand. We have seen clients have custom folders for paperwork, custom calendars, custom planners, stickers, and much more. It really depends on the company to what you should brand. You don’t necessarily need to have promotional items, but I suggest having a calendar/padfolio with your company name on it.
7. Padfolio/Calendar
Padfolios and Planners are great indicators that you stay organized and your clients are not going to fall to the wayside. Right down appointments, and notes in front of the client and it boost how they see you professionally by a mile.
8. Respect Their Time
This is the one thing that I hear people talk about the most, both in professional and personal conversations. If they have an experience, where you waste their time or don’t treat it just as valuably as your own, they’re not going to refer your company or leave a good review. Respecting that everyone’s time is valuable is a major thing that you can do build that client relationship.
9. Spellcheck/Grammar
So often, I’ll see typos in emails or professional correspondance. This can indicate that you don’t care enough to read through your email before you send it. This is vital, and can definitely boost the professionalism of your company.
10. Client Success > Sale
Place your client’s success over the sale. Provide clients information on how to use your product or service to succeed, and mean it.
11. Get Relevant Certifications
This is a great way to show your knowledge. It also legitimizes your company by showing that you went out of your way to get certified in your industry.
12. SSL – Get Secured
Not only does this boost your SEO. It shows that you care about the user’s safety.
13. Pay attention to website down time.
You want your website up 100% of the time. Make sure you have a reliable hosting company. We suggest HostGator, we’ve tested several different hosting companies and have found HostGator to be the best in customer service, up time, and features. Get 20% off all New HostGator Hosting plans with Coupon: SNAPPY.
