11 Ways You Can Make a Lasting Business Impression

11 Ways You Can Make a Lasting Business Impression

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. That might be true, but perceptions can change, and you can do all you can to accommodate a client. Furthermore, a lasting business impression doesn’t solely rely on a first impression. There are many factors by which a potential client will decide on your service. These include website content, support for contemporary issues and how you treat them face-to-face or over numerous contact methods.

Commission Professional Media Production

Unless you are very talented, you’re probably not a graphic designer or video editor working for a top animation studio. Yet media production is an excellent method of promoting your business and getting across your message to clients. Animation, for example, has a long-lasting impression and can be changed, scaled and updated when required. 

Develop an Expert Website

A priority for any modern business should be to develop a website since 90% of users Google a company before making a decision. If you have no website, then you potentially miss out on a lot of clients. There are excellent tools available for developing your site yourself. You can use WordPress, WooCommerce and other such builders, depending on requirements. 

However, these can take a long time to learn and even longer to master when you factor in SEO and analytics. These days, expert web design and development isn’t as expensive as it used to be. Fortunately, there are with UX Design Chicago-based companies that provide can provide affordable and top-quality services for their clients.

Professional developers are also experts in design aesthetics for different businesses. For example, a medical website is expected to look very different from the website of a family restaurant. You can employ Independent ERP Consultants in UK to look after your software solutions and business processes.

In addition, media production such as this works exceptionally well with today’s social media platforms. With or without audio, eye-catching animations are visually pleasing on Facebook and TikTok across the web and mobile devices. This can also provide a significant return on investment since 85% of social media users access the platforms on their phones or tablets.

Enjoy Blogging and Vlogging

As a sole endeavour or to supplement your existing website, you could consider blogging and vlogging, or both. Blogging for your own site shows current and potential clients you know what you are doing. For example, suppose you own a plumbing company. In that case, you could blog how people can insulate their water pipes for winter themselves. Then, in the same or a subsequent post, you could detail the professional services you provide throughout winter. 

Blogging is also an excellent way of driving extra SEO-based traffic to your business. However, vlogging is a little different. Vlogging is video blogging, such as YouTube videos. Yet vlogging requires more knowledge since you will need to learn how to create and edit videos. But this isn’t as difficult as you might think. For the most part, the trick is in getting your videos noticed.

Know Your Audience

Along with blogging comes audience analysis. This requires you to identify critical demographics for your chosen product or service. You can use professional analytics tools for this. Different approaches require different tools. Some of the best include:

• Google Analytics
• Social media proprietary tools
• Adobe Analytics
• Mixpanel
• Matomo
• StatCounter
• Yandex Metrica
• Amplitude
• Baidu Analytics

Capturing and analyzing data is an art and a science. Yet knowing your audience extends beyond data. For new clients, always make sure you know who you are sitting down with. You can make a great impression simply by learning a little about a client’s business and what they do. This will also help when coming up with bespoke ideas for the individual customer.

Tell Your Story

As much a client likes to let you know who they are and what they do, they also want to hear about you. The more a client knows about you, the easier it is for them to make an informed decision. Therefore, it is polite to give a client some background when you meet face to face or communicate via another method for the first time.

You can also include details on who you are and what your company can offer on your website. This information is typically located on your “About Us” page. Some background information is essential on this page, so introduce yourself and your team. Also include the primary services you offer. In addition, you can help boost local SEO by including address and contact information.

Adopt Numerous Communication Methods

Further to providing an address and phone number, try to include various communication methods. Depending on your service, a phone number and email might be all that is required. Yet providing a contact form is an excellent way to catch extra client data and generate leads that could convert to sales. In addition, you can utilize advanced contact features.

Such features include Live Chat systems, click-2-call components and AI bots. While these sound complicated, you can outsource these services. They are easily installed on your website. The modern consumer expects communication methods like these. Therefore, simply by providing more than one way to contact, you let clients know you are putting them first.

Be Proactive on Social Media

Love it or loathe it, social media is excellent for business. This is probably why 96% of companies operate a social media profile. Even some that don’t yet have a website. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer complete advertising solutions that enable laser-targeted ads. Yet anyone can do this. To make an impression, you need to master the art of engagement.

You can write pretty much what you want when you want on your business profile. But there is a trick to getting the most out of these platforms:

• Commit to a steady engagement schedule
• Let your uniqueness shine through
• Proactively gauge customer sentiment over promotion
• Pick one platform and stick with it
• Become passionate about social and make it a priority
• Try incorporating some of your professional videos

Building a successful profile on a social platform takes time and dedication. However, there is an opportunity to fully engage with clients in a way that has never before been possible. Therefore, social media is superior to traditional methods such as radio and TV.

Change with the Times

No one likes a business that is stuck in the past. But, unfortunately, history is littered with companies that failed because they weren’t willing to change with the times. Take 1990s movie rental service Blockbuster, for example. Blockbuster didn’t see the potential in internet streaming and subsequently declined a deal with a fledgling Netflix service. A couple of years later, Blockbuster shut down, and Netflix is one of the most valuable companies in the world at $660 billion.

Now, you probably won’t be involved in a multibillion-dollar deal. Yet you can learn from the mistakes of Blockbuster and other companies like Kodak, Nokia and Xerox. The world’s changes, and sometimes the services you offer need to adjust to those changes. Technological advancement and client expectations are a significant part of adapting to your sector’s evolution.

Show Support for Movements

Further to adapting to a changing world, the past couple of years have seen significant movements. #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and global sustainability are just a few. These movements are vastly essential and gain momentum all the time. As a result, clients and customers expect your company to support modern movements. Decisions about whether to do business with you may be made solely on socioeconomic alignments.

Fortunately, you don’t need to climb the rooftops to show support for a cause. It is common for a company to place their support for movements on their About Us page or on a separate Mission Statement page of their website. However, following your background research on a client, it might be a good idea to verbally show support for a cause they believe in when meeting.

Embrace Digital Marketing

A website with regular blogs, social media engagement and professional media is all well and good. Yet, these are the basics that a client might expect. While such developments are sure to make a good impression on a customer, you can extend beyond expectations. For example, you can implement a solid digital marketing campaign as an overall sales and client acquisition strategy. 

Digital marketing covers a wide range of internet and web-based solutions. Such examples include SEO, email marketing and social media campaigns. Yet professional agencies can also boost your online appearance by including genuine testimonials and reviews. Such statements can be placed in appropriate locations such as related blogs, online retailers and comparison sites.

Follow Up with Clients

Clients love to feel appreciated. While most companies go out of their way to make a client feel loved during a transaction, this is typically where it ends. You can go a step further by ensuring your client is catered for through every step of your service. And this should include relevant aftercare and checkups where appropriate.

For example, following a roofing installation, you could call a client one month later to check if everything is OK. Or you may want to call a client the day after a birthday party to check if your catering service was adequate. This allows you to engage with valued customers positively. Even if they have something terrible to say, you can be polite, apologize and affirm that you will address the issue and do it better next time. 

Contributed Article. Contains sponsored links.