The perceived value is one of those core business aspects taught in school that often gets overlooked and forgotten in the real world.
Business owners and investors typically find themselves in an echo chamber. They automatically assume their business is worthwhile along with their products and services. It’s their baby, after all. So, of course, the owner believes what they offer is of value.
Not always.
The customer’s perception of the business is what matters.
If the business presents itself as unprofessional or cannot convey the value of its offers then a consumer won’t put A and B together. They won’t feel compelled to do business.
There is a solution to this.
How-to Create a “Bigger” Business Image
Having your business appear “big” in the eyes of consumers increases credibility. With credibility comes trust. Trust develops opportunities! These customers want to know their information is safe, customer service is top-notch, offers hold value, and they’re behind a brand that deserves a following.
Here are some of the various ways to add a “bigger” image to the business:
Custom Marketing Assets
There’s nothing wrong with using templates to create marketing materials – they’re a great shortcut to get things in motion. Yet, these templates are easy to recognize due to the lack of branding, overused stock media, and bland copy.
One way to add personality and branding to marketing assets like email newsletters, brochures, and promotional materials is to work with a company which takes existing assets and customizes them so they match your brand.
MarcomCentral marketing assets solutions, for example, provide a wide range of rebranding services to add extra “oompf” to your materials so that you may present the business larger than it is.
Customer Relationship Management
CRM services are used by large businesses to keep track of employee and customer interactions. These services manage the customer contact database while providing notes, reports, and internal communication to other team members.
The use of CRM is highly effective in presenting a larger image. The ability to pull past order details, personal information, and previous conversations creates a “wow factor” in commitment and care.
These services could include SugarCRM, Salesforce, and Highrise (among many others).
Project/Employee Management Tools
Small businesses gain the advantage of being agile and flexible. Though, this can be at a disadvantage with certain customers because it may come across as being chaotic.
Project and employee management tools create a system to the chaos. It helps employees stay on target while giving them access to resources to better do their job. These tools are fantastic for keeping open channels of dialog within the business which empowers the individual so they can best help the customer!
Tools worth exploring include: Toggl (timesheet app), Trello (project management), Xero (accounting), Buffer (social), Docusign (contracts/legal), and others worthy of your time.
High-Quality Media
People want to do business with companies that reflect their lifestyle.
A simplistic website and infrequent social doesn’t convey the business philosophy, the people behind it, and why the brand holds value.
Want to appear bigger? Invest in professional media.
Hire a video production company to create high-quality videos. These videos could be industry talks, coverage of a participated charity event, product/service overviews, customer reviews, and more.
Can’t afford a professional service? Try using templates from VideoHive along with learning Adobe Premiere (there are many free courses online). Pair it with a consumer-level HD camera, tripod, and microphone. Then you’re good to go!
Attend Events
Entry for conferences and events may seem steep but they can be a wonderful investment to get your foot in the door and present the business larger than what it is.
You could go all out and set up a booth or show up and mingle with others. Either way – it’s about gaining exposure. It will also give you media to share on social and the website!
There are plenty of business events to choose from.
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What strategies does your business use to appear larger than it really is?