Starting a Small Home Business

Entrepreneurs – How to Project Your Corporate Identity

January 9th, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized — Small Home Business Author

You’ve got your business set up and you are working hard on getting your customers and giving them a good service, but you are still a small company. How do you project a great corporate image so that you can run with the big dogs?

In service based companies and those that are working with large corporations it is important that you project a good image. It is difficult to compete with other larger and more experienced companies unless you are perceived as their equals so you need to work upon the image that you and your company project. Here are a few ideas:

Brand: Ensure that you have a consistent, professional expensive looking, branding. Particularly spend some money on your brochures and business cards. Print on demand printers (POD) make your company look established and prosperous. Brochures printed off on your inkjet merely say you are a one person company with a limited turnover.

Office: Rent an office for meetings or for to give a good impression when needed. This can be done quite easily. You can also just rent a virtual mailing address and phone answering machine if required.

Contact Details: Make sure that you have an office sounding address and a good telephone number – a mobile/cell phone number just states one person business. In the age of VOIP phones you can now get a phone number very easily – especially a number for several different countries. If your partner or friend can answer the phone for you this makes a good impression.

Vehicles: Make sure your vehicles are always clean and in a good condition and not too old. Sign write them if possible.

Web Site: Ensure that your web site projects the professional image that it should. Don’t have any amateur features such as visible web counters or poor graphics. Make it easy to navigate, full of useful information and include your phone number and contact details.

Lastly yourself: Ensure that you are dressed professionally at all times and project a professional manner. Lastly don’t call yourself the SEO or President etc. In large companies these people very rarely meet the customers. Try Business Development Manager or something similar – it describes your role, gives you an air of seniority and disguises the fact that you may be the only employee.

Of course you should not do anything that may be illegal – never lie about your company employees or the size of your company. It is easy enough to project a good image using the above features. Good luck.

Copyright 2009 Biz Guru Ltd

Lee Lister writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites where she provides advice and assistance for the business entrepreneur. She is a published author and her latest book Entrepreneur’s Apprentice can be found on http://www.startmynewbusiness.com.

With over 20 years management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses. If you would like more help and assistance in setting up your new marketing strategy as well as some great marketing services then visit: http://www.MarketingGuerrillas.com.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.