7 Tips That Will Help Your Business Make A Good First Impression

Business Insights
26/08/2020

First impressions matter in business. Clients and other businesses you are trying to build a relationship with form an opinion about you and your business as soon as they visit your premises. Although most businesspeople know how to make a good first impression, that cannot be said for some businesses. From making it harder to find their physical location to scruffy furniture in the reception area, there are a lot of things businesses do not pay close attention to that lead potential clients, other businesses, and interview candidates to form negative opinions about them. Below, we are going to look at some tips that will help your business make the best first impression.


Improve Your Phone Systems

One of the biggest annoyances for the majority of people is automated phone systems. It is especially annoying when one is looking for information about a business and they are met with a robotic voice as soon as the phone rings. If you want to make a good impression, ensure calls are picked up by actual humans within four rings. This makes people know you care about them and are willing to be there when you need them. Doing this also reduces the number of abandoned calls because most people would rather hang up than listen to a generic tune for 15 minutes or leave a voicemail.


Automated messages are another huge annoyance for people. Due to how most businesses handle automated messages, a lot of people have lost faith in them. A good example is an automated message telling people to leave their number and the business will get back to them. Because of how many businesses do not follow through, a lot of people do not leave any information, and that could lead to a loss of business.


Ensure Whoever Picks up the Call Is Helpful

Getting rid of automated answering systems is good, but it is not the whole answer. It is equally infuriating to get through to a representative or agent who cannot help with the issue at hand. To remove this annoyance, ensure everyone who receives calls is well trained and can offer solutions and answers to any queries a customer may have.


Make it Easy for People to Find You

Most people expect to find your physical location if they look you up or visit your website. Leaving out your location creates a bad impression, as people will wonder why you left out such crucial information. This also applies to phone numbers, email addresses, and postcodes.


It should be easy for people to find your offices or the contact information they can use to get in touch. This gives the impression that you want people to find you or get in touch, and you would appreciate it if they did. Adding this information is very easy, as is adding a map that shows people where you are located.


Also, if you move offices, ensure you update your location everywhere it was previously posted. You do not want people visiting your old office and leaving because they do not know where they could find you.


Improve Your Reception Area

The reception is the most important physical area in your business because it is the first place people see when they visit your business. You want it to be both comfortable and welcoming while communicating who you are as a business. If you find your reception area unwelcoming, you could hire an office fit out company to do some refurbishments or to redo the whole area. Amos Beech is an amazing interiors company based in Scotland that can help you rethink, restructure, and redesign your reception area, as well as your back office, to give the best impression. Their team has decades of combined experience in interior design and they provide end-to-end service in all matters concerning interior design.


In addition to physical areas, your staff also needs to handle clients as soon as they walk through the door. Simple things, like asking how their day is going or offering a glass of water, all go a long way in creating the best impression.


Attend to Clients Promptly

Your reception area might be well furnished, the receptionist might be very polite and helpful, but if you make clients wait at the reception too long, that creates a bad impression. It is impolite and can be interpreted to mean you do not care. A good way to ensure this does not happen is to know what appointments you have for the day, so you know when to set some time aside to cater to a client. Once you know when they are arriving, you are expecting them and are in a position to usher them into your office as soon as they arrive.


Get Rid of Designated Parking Spaces

Designated parking areas are an outdated concept that sends the wrong message. Many people interpret it to mean that the person to whom the parking space belongs is superior to everyone else, including their clients. If you need to reserve parking space, ensure it is either for loading or for your visitors. Also, designating parking spaces for outstanding employees, like the employee of the month, sends the message that you care about your employees and will reward them for a job well done.


Tidy up Your Offices

How could you care for a client's affairs if you do not have yours in order? That is the type of question that comes up in a lot of people’s minds when they visit an untidy office. Simple things like having the office deep cleaned every day gives the impression you care and that you are proud of the office.


Tidy offices are not always for your client’s benefit, as they can also help demonstrate to new hires the level of expectations you have for them.


While you may know how to create a great first impressions in-person, your business should be able to do so itself. Simple things like promptly attending to clients shows that you care and creates a good impression. Look around the office and try to see if there is anything you do not like about it or your employees. If you see anything you do not like, know that your clients will also not like it and take the necessary steps to rectify it.