The Importance Of A Good First Impression Of Your Business
Creating a good first impression of your business is absolutely vital to your success.
When a prospective client calls, yours may be one of multiple other businesses they’ll contact to find their perfect service provider. In the fiercely competitive world of business, it’s more important than ever to ensure your company stands out from the rest. Sometimes a single inbound phone call is the only opportunity you’ll have to close a sale – so creating a good first impression of your business is a must! Here at Office Front our telephone answering service is on hand to help you achieve this.
In this article we’ll share a few tips on how you can create a great first impression of your business and why this is so critical to your success.
1.Focus on the customer, not your sales pitch
Many companies invest a great deal of time and money into marketing themselves and why they believe they’re great. But, what a customer really needs to hear is how you can help them. Creating a good first impression of your business starts with understanding and considering your customer at a personal level.
If you’re a law firm for example, the person calling you may be feeling scared, vulnerable or concerned about the future. If you can make them feel reassured and understood, you’ll take a big step towards creating a great impression about your business.
Listening, taking the time to understand the issue and using a kind and empathetic tone will demonstrate to your prospective client that you genuinely care. Remember that most clients care less about your company stats, facts and figures and more about whether you understand their problem and can help them resolve it.
2. Don’t keep them waiting
If you’re a busy firm, it can be difficult to juggle fielding inbound calls from potential clients alongside managing the workload from existing clients. Without a dedicated resource in place to answer phone calls correctly, you could lose out on potential sales and create a negative impression of your business.
It’s vital that you have someone ready to answer any inbound calls within just a few seconds of ringing. They should be trained to respond to any calls with professionalism and a friendly approach, in addition to having the expertise to be able to manage most calls independently.
Many businesses now opt to outsource their inbound calls to a telephone answering service so they’re guaranteed to make a good first impression on every call. This can be a great option for small businesses who don’t have the capacity or budget to hire a dedicated receptionist in-house.
3. Anybody there?
Even worse than taking a while to answer inbound calls is not being able to answer them at all! Nothing creates a worse first impression of your business for a client than calling repeatedly and having nobody answer their call. An unanswered business phone can compromise your credibility and may cause potential clients to question whether yours is in fact a real, active business!
Existing clients also need to be able to reach you if they have questions or need any help with your services. Either way, it’s vital that your phones are answered promptly when someone calls – this is one of the best ways to create a good first impression of your business.
4.What’s that number?
Despite living in a mobile led world, when it comes to your business telephone number, most people still expect to call a landline. Small businesses such as construction companies, law firms and estate agents can make a good first impression of their business even before a potential client has picked up the phone.
Using professional branding, a corporate company name and a UK based landline number, you’ll create a good first impression of your business by showing that it’s an established and reputable firm.
5. Customer reviews
One of the best ways to create a good first impression of your business is through customer reviews. On your company website and in Google, you should aim to have at least a handful of recent reviews from customers. Reviews can often be a deciding factor for a client to choose your business over competitors because they provide an unbiased view of your services.
Most businesses have a ‘Google My Business’ page online. By claiming your business listing and encouraging customers to write reviews on your Google profile, you’ll benefit from more inbound leads and will create a great first impression of your business.
To find out more about how to create a good first impression of your business, call us on 020 7127 0660!
About Office Front.
Founded in 1999, we have provided quality Business Address and Telephone Answering to hundreds of small and large businesses with the Office Front telephone answering service. Almost any professional or business, of any size, can benefit from such a quality service. To find out more about us and our services, take a look around our website.