There is nothing worse than having your business appear less than professional. If people cannot be confident that your company is not only on the leave. But run with expertise and care, then they cannot be expected to become a customer or client.
Unfortunately, there are a number of things that many businesses do, often without realizing, that make their companies look unprofessional in the eyes of the client.
Below, you will find some of the most common slip-ups that could be costing your company its credibility:
An incohesive brand
Branding is such an important part of establishing your business with the customer and letting everyone know exactly what you are about and what you have to offer. It is not, then, something that can be rushed.
If your branding has been put together too quickly without any thought to having a cohesive message and the same style and tone running throughout it, from your website to your packaging, then your business will not look anywhere near as professional as it could or should, and you might find that it is much more difficult to get your target audience on board.
Sloppy copy
If there is one thing that is going to bring your company into disrepute, then it is sloppy copy. If the writing on your website, on your business cards, and in your emails, is poor, littered with spelling mistakes, and uninteresting to read, no one is going to consider that your company is a professional one. That’s why you need to ensure you always do a good job writing emails. Web copy, blog posts, and anything else that will be linked to your business, Reputable companies don’t have bad grammar or spelling and they certainly don’t have bland copy.
A clunky website
These days, if your business does not have a website, then that alone can be enough to render you unprofessional in the eyes of most clients. However, having any old website is not enough to protect you from accusations of unprofessionalism – your need to have a well-designed, easy-to-use website in order to do that.
A good business website should be crisp, clean, and filled with no more copy than necessary to get the job done and provide the relevant information. It should be optimized for mobile devices and intuitive to use, It should also load quickly and give details of your business accountant details and what you do. If you cannot do all of that, then your business will definitely look unprofessional to many.
Personal opinions
Just because you are a business owner, does not mean you cannot have your own opinions on subjects like religion and politics but if you express them publicly in your capacity as a business owner, that could lead to you looking more unprofessional than you might have intended, depending on the views you express.
That is why, it is often better to avoid discussing controversial issues via company channels, and why it is probably best to have your personal social media locked down so that your private opinions do not become all too public knowledge.
Not being incorporated
In many places around the world. You do not necessarily news to incorporate your business to start trading but if you’re thinking about not setting up a limited liability company or similar, you should really think again, Why? As well as the extra protection it affords you, making your business legally official gives the average consumer more confidence that your business is legitimate, and that is exact,y what you need them to know if you want to encourage them to trust you with their money and their requirements.
A sketchy address
These days, you can set up a business and run it from your home with relative ease but if you do run your business from a home location or if you happen to have premixes in a sketchy neighborhood, this could cause your company to look unprofessional in the eyes of many, through no fault of your own.
The good news is, there are services that enable you to rent a better business address virtually in a prime location that is associated with big business, doing so costs just a few dollars each month, but it can really help you to improve your professional reputation and compete with the bigger boys in your niche more effectively.
Making promises you cannot keep
One of the biggest issues that can cause your company to look unprofessional is promising more than you can deliver. If you tell the customer that you are going to do something, whether it be delivering a package next day or customizing their order to their specifications, and you do not do it, not only will they not be impressed, but they will start to question where you are the professional outfit you claim to be at all. They may also take to the internet to leave you bad reviews which will then make more people question your professionalism and it will be a whole vicious circle. It’s far better to under-promise so that you can over-deliver.
Poor customer service
In a similar vein, if a customer or client needs to get in touch with you and they find it impossible to access your contact information, or if they are kept on hold for ages, or especially if they receive poor service from agents who do not know what they are talking about, then you can pretty much guarantee that they will not be impressed and your company’s professionalism will be called into question. Train your customer service staff well!
If your company is currently doing any of the above, then there is a good chance that you will be putting off customers from ever making a purchase because they simply will not have enough confidence that you are a reputable company that they can trust to do its best for them. So, whatever else you do today, start correcting these mistakes and let your company thrive.
